After more than an hour of public comment Aug. 4, City Council approved putting a measure before voters that would increase the city’s sales tax by a half percent with a 5-1 vote. If approved by voters in November, Gilroy’s sales tax would jump from 8.75 to 9.25 percent and the city would have the highest sales tax in all of Santa Clara County.
An eighth-cent sales tax increase would make Santa Clara County a more expensive place to shop if voters OK a proposed tax hike on the Nov. 6 ballot. But it’s also the only way the county would get funds directly from local sales tax revenue, which currently goes straight to state coffers.
The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors passed the second and final reading of an ordinance that will ask voters to increase the sales tax by one-eighth cent in November, increasing the local tax rate from 8.375 percent to 8.5 percent. The board voted 4-0 Tuesday, with South County’s Supervisor Mike Wasserman absent.
Gilroy School Board trustees, encouraged by a recent survey that found more than 50 percent of 501 likely November 2012 Gilroy voters would “strongly support a city sales tax for local schools,” are poised to put the ball in City Council's court.
• Yes, as much as I feel the weight of our tax burden, I do believe our community is served well by Saint Louise. • No. Hospital is supposed to be self-sufficient. We are already paying for the Gilroy Unified School District, Gavilan Community College and the library. • No. Although I support nonprofits personally, this is a religious based facility and should not be supported by a local sales tax measure. • Why would the public support a private hospital? • No. There are other areas to tackle in terms of leadership that won’t be resolved with a local tax. • No. Saint Louise is profit based, they can raise their own funds! • Yes. Having a local hospital is a very key need in South County and it's a critical business worthy of community support. Quality health care is more important than a new library, a police station building or many other public endeavors. • No. This financing is the responsibility of the owners, the Daughters of Charity. • Yes, the sales tax is generated largely by out-of-town shoppers, so they would be paying for something that benefits the local residents.