Open House About 2012 Service Cuts, Revenue Measures Tonight

Don't forget to come to the tonight at 6:30p.m. for an open house about potential cuts to services and revenue measures, including tax increases, that the city is this year. 

Some of the service cut options include reducing local library hours, reducing or eliminating senior services and the whopper: contracting with the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement in town and terminating the .

The cuts, taxes and fee proposals come in addition to about  made in 2011 and after the defeat of another revenue measure—the failed . 

Some of the places where the Financing City Services Task Force, which helps steer budget policy in Pacifica, believes it can make money, through fees and tax measures, include:

• A restructuring and/or an increase in the annual cost of a Pacifica business license;
• Applying the transient occupancy tax (TOT), or hotel tax, on vacation rentals in town; 
• A one- or half-cent increase to the local sales tax;
• A restructuring of the utility users tax to include not just gas and electricity but also telecommunications;
• Levying a parcel tax similar to  by the ;
• Increasing the rent at city-owned properties, such as the Sanchez Art Center;
• And collecting a $50-per-vehicle towing fee through the Pacifica Police Department.

In addition to learning more about these options tonight, residents can weigh in on the options via an online survey hosted by the city. That survey is available here. 

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