Vernon Residents Approve Three Tax Measures

All 42 voters in Vernon, Calif. turned out to support an election to decide three tax measures city leaders say is needed to close an $8 million budget gap, according to a Los Angeles Times report.

Officials had threatened deep cuts to the city's police and fire departments if the measures did not pass.

Only 112 people live in the city, but there are more than 1,800 businesses.

"More than anything, this vote is an acknowledgment in the city of Vernon that public safety is important," city spokesman Fred MacFarlane told the newspaper after Tuesday's balloting, adding that residents and businesses alike have made it clear that they don't want to contract out police and fire services.

The three measures projected to raise $8 million annually for the city received more than 80% of the vote.

Measure K, which increases the city's business license tax, is expected to inject $4.5 million annually into the city's coffers.

Measure L, a special parcel tax on non-residential lots, will bring in $1.9 million a year for 10 years. And Measure M, a 1% utility users tax, will raise an estimated $1.6 million before it sunsets in 2023.

Vernon, a tiny industrial town that in the past was dogged by corruption charges and election irregularities, has run deficits for more than 20 years, according to the newspaper.

In recent years, a series of bad investments, made worse by the troubled economy, have widened Vernon's budget gap. The fight to save the city from disincorporation in 2011 didn't help.

Since then, city leaders have made severe cuts and raised electric rates by about 40%.

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