|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Menlo Park voters narrowly defeated Measure K, a proposal to allow the city to levy a utility tax.
With all 30 precincts reporting, the final unofficial result showed 50.6 percent of the voters opposed. The measure lost by 100 votes, with 4,171 casting no votes, and 4,071 voting yes.
The measure could have passed with the approval of a simple majority of voters.
Measure K was placed on the ballot by a unanimous vote of the City Council. The council said the measure was necessary to avoid further budget cuts and fee increases.
It would have given the council authority to impose a tax up to 3.5 percent on utility bills (gas, electric, water) and 2.5 percent on “communications” (landline telephone, cell phone, cable TV and Internet).
A controversial feature of the measure was a $12,000 annual cap, which would have limited the amount any user — whether a huge business or a small homeowner — would pay for the tax on gas, water and electricity bills. Some tax proponents wanted a higher cap so heavy users would pay their share, but the council compromised on this level to obtain a unanimous council vote.
