There will be a public hearing today at the special city council meeting at 4:30pm over at City Hall on Grand Avenue (large conference room) The city is seeking options to increase revenues for the general fund and the area of focus is the business license tax. Today’s meeting will discuss this item and vote to place this before the public on the November ballot.
Information from the city of this issue is listed below:
Dear Resident
Our City prides itself on effectively addressing gang activity in South San Francisco, but we must keep it that way. Like you, we are concerned that South San Francisco continues to have adequate local funds to address gang activity and protect our community.
After several years of budget reductions and state money grabs, we must continue to take steps to exercise local control and self-reliance from Sacramento to maintain critical levels of police and fire staffing and other city services. Especially, we need adequate funding to maintain firefighter/ paramedic services and neighborhood police patrols, while ensuring rapid 9-1-1 emergency response.
Reliable local funding will help us avoid situations such as using city reserve funds to increase funding for gang suppression services.
With this goal in mind, we have been reviewing all possible options for increasing local revenue in a fair manner. We have begun discussions with numerous local business leaders about a possible update to our City’s Business License Tax. While almost all companies operating in South San Francisco pay their fair share, the proposed update would close remaining current loopholes. This would not impact the vast majority of South San Francisco’s small businesses, but guarantees that all businesses that are operating in our City contribute and pay their fair share of the Business License Tax.
Please review the materials on this website page to help answer any questions about this potential update the City is considering. Additionally, we welcome your thoughts and perspectives. Please don’t hesitate to email the City with any questions at info@ssf.net
Sincerely,
Barry Nagel
City Manager
Recent Staff Report on this item can be found HERE
UPDATE: Council has voted to not put this issue on the November ballot
-Ed