Woodland asks voters again to raise sales tax. ‘One of the only levers we can pull’

The Abridged version:

• The city of Woodland is bringing a 1 percentage point sales tax increase to voters in November.
• If passed, officials say Measure Y would help bolster city services that would otherwise be affected by an ongoing structural budget deficit.
• A similar measure was rejected by voters in 2024.

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When Woodland residents look at their ballots for the November election, one local measure might look familiar.

Two years after a similar effort failed by fewer than 2,000 votes, the city is again asking voters to increase the sales tax rate by 1 percentage point.

“Fundamentally, mechanically, it’s a very similar proposal,” said Spencer Bowen, spokesperson for the city of Woodland.

The move comes as Woodland contends with a multimillion-dollar structural budget deficit that could threaten some city services.

To fill the gap, officials are asking residents to approve a 1 percentage point increase in the sales tax, equivalent to one cent on the dollar. If passed by a majority of voters, Measure Y would authorize the increase and bring up to $16 million per year into the city’s general fund.

That money could then be used for things like public safety, road repairs and park maintenance.

“Really one of the only levers we can pull to continue providing quality services is increased sales tax,” Bowen said. “This would help across the board.”

Budget issues

Despite having fewer employees per capita than neighboring cities like Davis and West Sacramento, Woodland has struggled to maintain enough revenue to fund city services.

That’s due in part to a slowdown in development, increasing employee costs and a comparably low sales tax rate. Woodland’s current sales tax rate is 8%, while Davis and West Sacramento sit at 9.25% and Winters sits at 8.25%.

When the City Council passed the budget for this fiscal year, it closed a roughly $4.6 million gap by freezing hiring for some vacant positions, reducing costs like water for park landscaping and pulling from the city’s general fund reserve.

But as Woodland continues to grow and expenses rise, staff said city finances would continue to deteriorate if no structural changes were made. They predicted that status quo spending would deplete the city’s reserves by 2030.

“You can see the fiscal year column in four to five years where things get pretty dire,” Bowen said. “It’s getting a little more pressing.”

Without another source of revenue, that would mean staff would need to make cuts to city funded programs and services.

If Measure Y passes, officials hope to bolster staffing for the police and fire departments, while funding road and park maintenance projects.

A similar, failed measure

Woodland’s budget issues have been years in the making, and city leaders have tried to pull this lever before.

In 2024, Measure U was brought before voters using many of the same justifications as this year’s Measure Y. The two efforts are nearly identical, with the main difference being that the 2024 measure had an eight-year term, while Measure Y would stay in place unless it is repealed by voters.

But Measure U failed by fewer than 2,000 votes, in part because of stiff opposition from a pro-business group spearheaded by Jeff Morgan called the Yolo County Business PAC.

So far this cycle, the Yolo County Business PAC has not spent any money opposing the measure, according to publicly available campaign finance disclosures. Representatives from the organization did not respond to requests for comment.

The Woodland Chamber of Commerce, which did not take an official position on Measure U in 2024, has come out in support of this year’s Measure Y.

“With Measure Y, we have a significant opportunity to invest in Woodland’s future, strengthen essential services, and enhance the overall business climate,” said a letter of support written by the Chamber.

Support and oversight

Both candidates running for the open City Council seat in Woodland’s first district said they think the sales tax increase could help the city.

“I’m a strong believer, if you want to have quality communities, you need to have the resources,” said Jesse Ortiz during a debate hosted by the League of Women Voters of Yolo County.

But George Washington, who is running against Ortiz, said there should be oversight for how the money is spent.

“I believe if the money is spent properly, and it’s allocated toward the programs that it was meant to be spent on, then it would help the city,” he said. “If it’s misused and going into other departments, then it wasn’t successful.”

If approved, Measure Y would be subject to the public disclosure processes that apply to other funding mechanisms, including Measure R and Measure F. Each year, staff generates a report on how the money is spent, presents it to the City Council and posts it on the city’s website.