When Selma voters overwhelmingly approved a sales tax increase in 2007, they were promised a long list of police and fire improvements: dozens more officers and firefighters, a new police and fire headquarters, and a stronger focus on battling drugs and gangs.
But instead of sticking with the original plan, city officials have used most of the money collected so far to help fill a $1 million-plus budget gap.
And under a plan recently adopted by the City Council, little or no money from the half-cent sales tax, known as Measure S, will go toward additional public safety personnel or equipment next year -- and possibly beyond.
Some residents are convinced that voters were duped into paying higher taxes with a false promise of extra services.
"This whole Measure S thing has really upset a large part of the population," said Gary Alexander, a former City Council candidate and the owner of a computer repair shop. "The way it was presented to us nobody could argue against it."
In its first year, Measure S generated about $1.1 million. About $850,000 of that went toward plugging the budget gap earlier this year, city officials say.
Steve Yribarren, a financial consultant for the city, says the Measure S money was a reimbursement to the city, which strained its general fund to maintain public safety services in a year when revenues came up short.
He also noted that the city used a few hundred thousand dollars from Measure S funds to hire three new officers. Even so, police officers are being furloughed one day every two weeks, and the police chief has warned of reduced response times for nonemergency calls.
Yribarren acknowledged that the city's use of Measure S money has become "a hot-button topic." Critical comments about it have been left on the Web site of the town's local newspaper, The Selma Enterprise.
Measure S originally was accompanied by a 10-year expenditure plan -- a detailed outline of how the money would be spent. The measure's ordinance said the money could be used only for those purposes. The ordinance also said that the money must "supplement, rather than supplant, existing city expenditures for public safety."
The ordinance, however, also allowed the city to revise the expenditure plan; the City Council essentially voted to eliminate it earlier this year.
Kris Vosburgh, executive director of the Los Angeles-based Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, was critical of the city's use of Measure S money. Nevertheless, he said the city probably isn't doing anything illegal because technically it is using Measure S funds for public safety.
"It's a good cautionary tale for voters," he said. "When politicians promise certain outcomes from new taxes, don't necessarily count on that happening."
Two other Fresno County cities -- Reedley and Sanger -- also have sales taxes to improve public safety. But those two cities have stuck with their expenditure plans, their city managers said.
Selma Mayor Dennis Lujan said he believes the city has used Measure S funds responsibly. He acknowledged that the original expenditure plan was "very specific." But, he said, "thank God we have discretion. As a council, we are able to adjust the spending to be more realistic."
Dr. Stanley Louie, a family physician in Selma who was appointed by the City Council as the chairman of the citizens committee that oversees Measure S, said he has no problem with how the money has been spent.
"The adjustments made earlier this year were made to preserve our police force and Fire Department," he said.
A few rules are needed to help foster a feeling of community. We encourage a free and open exchange of ideas in a climate of mutual respect, but any post that violates someone's right to use and enjoy fresnobee.com is prohibited. Before you post, please read the terms of use and obey these simple guidelines.
Here are the ground rules:
Contents of this site are © Copyright The Fresno Bee. All rights reserved.
E-Mail
Print
@Nyx.CommentBody@