By Jorge Casuso

July 26, 2024 -- In an effort to boost public safety initiatives, Santa Monica voters will be asked to approve a parking tax hike measure on the November ballot for motorists using private parking facilities.

Approved by the Council with a unanimous vote on Tuesday, the Parking Facility Tax measure would raise the existing tax by 8 percent, generating approximately $6.7 million a year.

The revenues would be used to "enhance public safety, create safe routes to school to protect children, lower the risk of fatal traffic accidents and maintain essential city services," according to the language approved by the Council.

The money also would be used to "improve crime and homelessness prevention services, increase police patrols and enhance emergency medical response in neighborhoods and public areas."

An accompanying advisory measure sets aside at least half of the revenue raised "to protect public safety in Santa Monica, including attracting and retaining well-trained police officers and firefighters."

"We need to address public safety, especially our unhoused individuals," said Councilmember Lana Negrete who spearheaded the measure. "We want to do something now."

Council members on both sides of the political divide echoed Negrete's call to tackle an issue that promises to be at the center of the November 5 race for four open Council seats.

"We all want to enhance our public safety," said Caroline Torosis, one of three Councilmembers backed the Santa Monica's political establishment. "We all want to make sure that we have safe streets.

Councilmember Jesse Zwick, who is also a member of the Council minority, suggested tweaking the measure's language to place public safety at the top.

De la Torre said backers of the measure should make clear to residents that the funds generated by the measure will be used to "enhance" and not simply "maintain" public safety initiatives.

"This gives an opportunity for the residents to step up as well and have ownership of this decision," said de la Torre, a member of the Council's Change majority who has said he will run for reelection in November.

Mayor Phil Brock, who said he has not yet decided whether he will seek a second term, said he is generally opposed to taxes but that the measure is of "upmost importance to the residents."

"We are in a crisis," said Brock, who leads the Council's Change majority, "and all you have to do is walk down the street and see."

He said the tax would "not cost the average resident in the City," because it does not apply to City-owned lots and structures, including those Downtown and on the beach.

Negrete pushed for the Council to determine the specific use of the the funds generated by the tax measure at a study session scheduled for September.

The parking tax measure was revived by Negrete after the Council on June 25 rejected a version proposed by Zwick that earmarked the funds to increase traffic safety and restore the Safe Routes to School program, among other initiatives.

At the same meeting the Change majority opposed Zwick's tax measure, it voted to boost public safety spending by as much as $3.8 million by cutting "4 percent from non-personnel costs of the General Fund."

But ten days later, Negrete reversed course and directed City Manager David White "to immediately halt the process."

Instead of reallocating existing resources, she said, the Council "must pursue new revenue opportunities to address our public safety needs."

Negrete asked the City Manager to bring back the Parking Facility Tax and focus the revenues generated on public safety.

On Tuesday, Negrete said she feared the originally approved cuts across City departments would have had a "domino effect" impacting important initiatives undertaken by the City.

The measure will appear on the ballot two years after Santa Monica voters approved a bed tax hike on hotels, motels and home shares that will raise an estimated $4.1 million a year to address homelessness and public safety.

If the Parking Facility Tax Measure, which requires a simple majority, is approved, the increase would go into effect on January 1, 2025.