A day after Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said the city made a mistake in notifying the public about Measure C, a Sacramento County spokesperson said election officials won’t investigate whether the measure is legally on the ballot.
Spokesperson Ken Casparis on Wednesday said the city met all of the Voter Registration and Election Department’s deadlines, but added that it isn’t uncommon for the public to challenge a ballot measure.
“Most of the time the challenges are regarding ballot designations, and occasionally the qualifications of a candidate will be challenged – but the answer is always the same: seek court judgment and let us know what the court decides,” Casparis said in an email.
The City Council on Nov. 14 approved placing a measure that would increase Sacramento’s business operations tax on the March primary election ballot. City code required the city to publish the ordinance in the paper of record, the Sacramento Bulletin, within a specific time period. But the city didn’t publish the notice until this month after The Sacramento Bee Editorial Board asked about it.
Steinberg called the late notice a mistake in comments he made during the council meeting Tuesday.
“But it was not a mistake … that in any way was attempting to mislead,” Steinberg said. “And I think the best evidence of that, again, is the fact that the ordinance and the deadlines for filing the arguments were published online the very same night.”
Steinberg added that the city did its job of informing the public of the right to file arguments opposing the measure by posting the notice on its website Nov. 14.
On Wednesday evening, City Clerk Mindy Cuppy and City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood sent a letter to the Bee Editorial Board outlining steps the city took to inform voters of discussions about a potential business operations tax measure. The letter, which includes a timeline citing reporting by CapRadio and other outlets, was published on the city’s blog, Sacramento City Express.
If Measure C passes, Steinberg said a court could answer the question of whether it is still legally valid, despite the city’s failure to follow its own rules for publishing the ordinance in the Sacramento Bulletin.
“The law only allows for that if the measure passes, and then we might do that,” Steinberg said. “And I think that might be sound given some of the controversy that has been raised.”
The council and the law and legislation committee held several public hearings on a potential business operations tax increase in October and November. Business owners and business representatives, including spokespeople for Blue Diamond Growers and the Sacramento Realtors Association, gave public comments on the proposal.
Sacramento last updated the tax in 1991 and it has not been adjusted for inflation since then. If voters pass Measure C with a simple majority, city staff have estimated it will increase revenue from the tax by $6 million a year. Over the past decade, the tax has generated about $8.8 million annually, according to a staff presentation.
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