Monrovia City Council Tentatively Approves Proposed Spending Plan for Potential Sales Tax Measure

Monrovia City Hall. – Courtesy photo / City of Monrovia

Staff for the City of Monrovia has coordinated more than a dozen outreach meetings over the past few months to discuss the possibility of calling for a special election in November to ask voters to consider a sales tax increase. According to the city manager’s weekly report, the community’s response has been “generally positive” but voters want to know how the city plans to use the $4.5 million that is expected to be raised annually should the measure be approved by voters.

In response, city staff prepared a study session for City Council and community members to review the sales tax max and proposed spending plan. The proposed spending plan developed for consideration focuses on the following general fund priorities:

• Achieve an AAA rating.
• Fund an upgrade to the City’s Community Center.
• Give money back to residents by lowering the monthly municipal services bill.
• Continue to invest in capital upgrades, including parks, facilities and infrastructure.
• Set a fixed amount of money aside for community priorities, such as affordable housing, community based organizations, and schools.

City Council requested that staff do additional research but overall approved the direction of the plan. Staff continues to reach out to various community groups to gather additional feedback and will be expecting a call for elections by August 2019.