At his State of the City address on January 16, 2018, at John Marshall High School, Pasadena Mayor Terry Tornek announced that he will be seeking authority from the City Council to place an measure on the November, 2018, ballot seeking approval from voters for a 0.75¢ sales tax increase for the city. Also on the ballot will be an advisory vote on whether 0.25¢ of the added amount should be devoted to Pasadena Unified School District.
The mayor explained that the funding is necessary to help balance the city budget and maintain current levels of service.
The mayor said during the address, "My sworn duty as your Mayor is to preserve the good health and the future of our City. Rising costs, including pensions, mean that unless we increase our revenue, we must make material reductions in City services, including public safety.
Therefore, I will ask the City Council to place a 0.75% sales tax increase before the voters on the November, 2018 ballot. This would generate $21M annually and allow us to avoid cutting services too deeply, and will also generate capital funds for reinvestment in critical facilities such as Fire Stations.
Further, I would ask the voters to consider an advisory measure that would share 1/3 of the proposed tax (a quarter cent) with the Pasadena Unified School District. The PUSD is facing its own significant budget challenges and if they are to continue their efforts to improve educational outcomes for our children, they need our support. We cannot have a great City without a great public school system."
You can read the entire text of the 2018 State of the City address here: https://ww5.cityofpasadena.net/mayor/wp-content/uploads/sites/46/2018/01/2018-State-of-the-city-speech.pdf
The Legislative and Government Affairs Committee of the Pasadena Chamber will consider the measure and make a recommendation to the Board in advance of the City Council taking up consideration of placing the sales tax increase on the ballot.