Vallejo City Council approves early Measure P spending plan

VALLEJO – The Vallejo City Council moved forward with a plan for how to spend new income generated from Measure P, a seven-eighths-cent sales tax increase passed by voters last month.

Measure P, which received 55% approval, is expected to generate an additional $18 million annually for the city’s general fund. Vallejo's new sales tax rate will be the highest in Solano County at 9.25%.

The city council has been embroiled in an ongoing debate for over a month on whether current council members or the three new members set to be seated next month should have an opportunity to decide on the spending plan for Measure P.

“They might have other input. They might have other questions. They might have other suggestions and recommendations,” said Councilmember Mina Loera-Diaz, who opposed the spending plan with Councilmember Cristina Arriola.

Outgoing Councilmember Pippin Dew — who is leaving the council next month along with councilmembers Katy Miessner and Hakeem Brown — disagreed, arguing that the new council will have several chances to weigh-in on Measure P.

“I expect up until your very last meeting, that you will be doing the work that is in front of you up until the last minute as well,” Dew said to Loera-Diaz. “So I intend to do the work that is in front of me up until I am no longer in this seat.”

Diosdado “JR” Matulac, Charles Palmares, and Peter Bregenzer will join the council next month after being elected in November.

The spending priorities include “keeping public spaces healthy, safe and clean,” maintaining fire protection, emergency medical responses, crime prevention, addressing homelessness and dumping, while also repairing deteriorating neighborhood streets, roads and sidewalks.

The council unanimously voted to add youth services as a priority following a comment from Loera-Diaz.

“That’s big,” she said. “I was one of the many on here that advocated for Measure P, one of our top priorities was having youth.”

The council also discussed separating the accounting from Measure P so the public can review how the money is spent.

Dew spoke about a recent survey the city ordered to ascertain the viability of a tax measure passing. The polling firm surveyed 500 residents and determined that such a tax measure was likely to fail. The poll found that about 60% of residents had an unfavorable opinion of the city council, while 67% said they had an unfavorable opinion of the city government overall.

Dew said that the angst could be traced to when the city stopped separating the accounting from Measure B, a 1 percent sales tax hike approved by Vallejo voters in 2011. That measure was set to expire in June 2022, but voters made it permanent in November 2016.

“I think that was a mistake. We see that the trust in local government plummeted after that,” Dew said, adding that she wanted to see Measure P and B expenditures accounted separately.

Loera-Diaz agreed, stating that she wanted to see similar public accounting for the $25.6 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) monies the city has received to fund various projects, including supporting public health expenditures, addressing COVID-related negative economic impacts, replacing lost public sector revenue, providing premium pay for essential workers or investing in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure.

“The least that we can do is make sure it’s accounted for separately,” Loera-Diaz said. “People want to know where their money is going.”

The city council is expected to begin the process of selecting the seven-person oversight committee in February. The committee will be tasked with reviewing how Measure P monies are spent. Measure P also requires the creation of an independent auditor who will prepare an annual report on revenues and expenditures associated with the tax increase. The report will be presented to the oversight committee.

Vallejo will begin to see Measure P revenues in April with city staff returning around the same time to update the spending plan.

Assistant City Manager Terrance Davis said the city wants some time to analyze the data before establishing a formal spending plan.

“As many folks know there is talk of a recession and we would like to monitor our tax revenues before we lock in any specific spending plans,” Davis said.

Councilmember asks community to volunteer at warming shelter

Councilmember Mina Loera-Diaz asked the community to consider donating their time the next time Vallejo opens a warming center for the city’s homeless.

Loera-Diaz made her comments during her report to the council.

“We are having a really hard time finding volunteers and without them we cannot operate,” she said, stating that shifts are between three to four hours long.

Vallejo opened a shelter at the Norman C. King Community Center at 545 Magazine St. in South Vallejo amid almost freezing temperatures this month. Only one person used the shelter the first two days it was open, while nearly 20 people used it last week when the shelter was open from Monday through Thursday.

Loera-Diaz’s comments came hours after the city unveiled its new extreme weather policy, which outlines what conditions trigger the opening of at least one shelter.

The conditions include when the National Weather Service forecasts two consecutive days of either overnight lows below 35 degrees fahrenheit, two consecutive nights of rainfall, two consecutive days with highs of 100 degrees fahrenheit and/or the forecast of an extreme event that poses a risk to life and safety. The policy prohibits individuals from bringing pets into the shelter.

There have been critics who argue the low usage rate is because of its location far from areas where the city’s homeless people are living and because of a lack of amenities like cots at the shelter, and a lack of communication with people in need.

The city’s homelessness manager Natalie Peterson confirmed last week that there was trouble transporting people to the warming shelter.

“We do know that transportation can be an issue for individuals trying to get to the location,” Peterson said at the Dec. 13 council meeting. “We have reached out to non-profits, faith-based organizations who provide transportation, and are asking that they assist in this effort.”

Peterson further said that Solano County Transit (SolTrans), has agreed to provide free rides to and from the shelters when future warming shelters are opened.

On Tuesday, Loera-Diaz said that churches have donated pillows and blankets for use.

Loera-Diaz and Vice Mayor Rozzana Verder-Aliga serve as Vallejo’s representatives on CAP Solano JPA, an agency made up of representatives from all seven Solano County cities working together to coordinate efforts on reducing poverty and homelessness in Solano.

Loera-Diaz said she was named to an ad-hoc committee with Solano County Supervisor Mitch Mashburn and Vacaville Councilmember Roy Stockton to look at applying for county funds to buy cots and other supplies for shelters.

“You’re providing a safe place for them to be, a warm place for them to be, and you’re getting to listen to them, and meet them,” Loera-Diaz added.

The city has struggled to provide services to its homeless residents as a navigation center has been mired in development hell for years after going over budget and after the city officials revealed the parcel it had selected in South Vallejo was unfit for human habitation.

Vallejo took steps to get the project back on track by agreeing to purchase a new parcel for the project on Broadway Street, while also seeking federal funds from Solano County to finance it.