LAKEPORT — After receiving feedback from both the Clearlake and Lakeport city councils, the Lake County Board of Supervisors (BOS) Wednesday moved to continue discussion and action on proposed sales tax measures related to road improvements and lake programs.
Public Works Director Scott De Leon and assistant director Lars Ewing presented the sales tax measures to the BOS. Three proposals were presented: a 0.25- or 0.5-percent tax for either road or lake programs or a 0.5-percent tax option that would split the revenues equally for roads and lake programs.
Ewing said a 0.5-percent tax would generate $2.4 million annually.
The tax measures were first discussed at the July 10 BOS meeting and were continued to a special public meeting Wednesday. District 4 Supervisor Anthony Farrington presented the proposed measures before both city councils, Clearlake last Thursday and Lakeport Tuesday.
The city of Clearlake is pursuing its own 1-percent road tax measure. The Lakeport City Council did not support the countywide road tax measure Tuesday night. Both councils supported the proposed lake tax measure.
BOS Chair Rob Brown said the lack of support for the countywide road tax was disappointing, but he accepted the councils” decisions.
“We don”t want to be put in a position adverse to the cities, especially Clearlake,” Brown said, adding the county does have an obligation to come up with a plan to fix the condition of county roads.
District 1 Supervisor Jim Comstock said the county roads are in a “disastrous situation.”
“We ought to withdraw (the countywide road tax) and try again,” Comstock said, adding the lake tax is needed.
Farrington said the lake tax measure is important because Clear Lake is the economic engine for the county.
“This is Lake County, not Road County,” he said.
District 3 Supervisor Denise Rushing also supported the lake tax.
“We should put our all into that,” she said. “We don”t want to wait another season.”
District 2 Supervisor Jeff Smith, whose district consists of much of the city of Clearlake, said allocating more money for the lake will not fix issues such as nuisance algae and possible invasive species infestations.
“It”s not that simple,” he said.
The BOS made some changes to the proposed measures.
A citizen”s oversight committee, which was originally set to have six members, was restructured. The committee would consist of nine members, two elected officials from both cities and the county and one citizen from each of the three jurisdictions.
The supervisors also modified some of the proposed allocation percentages for the lake tax. The supervisors combined figures for the invasive species program and aquatic weeds and algae program, allocating 88 percent of revenues generated for the combined programs.
The BOS also suggested increasing the amount allocated for future matching funds and capital projects to 2 percent.
The discussion was continued by consensus to Tuesday at 10 a.m. to allow staff time to make some changes and prepare a resolution for a ballot measure.
