--- Isn’t this ballot measure going to fund enhanced police services and anti-drug programs? ---

The argument in favor states: Funding for enhanced neighborhood police patrols, crime prevention, anti-drug and gang prevention programs and improved 9-1-1 response would also be provided.

The same benefits cited by the government were some of the same rationale fed to voters in 2010 and 2014 with the passage of the Utility Users Tax. When it was time to pass it for the first time, the framing was that it was needed as a response to the Great Recession. Nearly eight years after the Great Recession hit in 2008, we are still paying this tax. Government officials have cited that revenue is still not at a level where we can eliminate the income from the tax.

The question is how many sources does the City of Newark draw from for police services?  LARA (Lake and Rosemont Association); Newark Betterment Corporation (a non-profit run by the city manager out of city hall); the city's general fund; the Utility Users Tax and the proposed sales tax increase (which also goes into the general fund).  This is not a complete list.

Yet, here we are being told we need to fund these same needs supposedly covered by the Utility Users Tax. If the government desperately needs these funds even years after the recession has hit, one wonders about the credibility of their claims of demonstrating “sound fiscal stewardship”. Additionally, the currently proposed sales tax measure has no potential method to provide exemptions for seniors and low-income residents. Please note that those living in poverty account for nearly 10% of our city’s population.

Why would it make any sense to further weaken local resident’s discretionary spending power by continuing to maintain a high sales tax rate in Newark? We are already having to depend on a utility tax, which was proposed as temporary for the recession, to fund basic services from insufficient revenue, it makes no sense to also claim our local economy is in good shape.


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