BY BRIANNA VACCARI

CV Journalism Collaborative

Merced County officials are vowing to keep going and try again for a countywide public safety sales tax initiative upon the imminent failure of Measure R.

Measure R was a half-cent sales tax measure placed on the Nov. 5 ballot by the Merced County Board of Supervisors. 

“We will not give up, even though we didn’t get this one passed,” Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke said. “Hopefully there’ll be light at the end of the tunnel someday, but we will continue to fight the fight.”

As of Thursday, Measure R had received nearly 55.7% voter approval – about 10 percentage points below the two-thirds approval needed to pass.

Warnke said he was cautiously optimistic the sales tax measure would pass, but he also acknowledged taxpayers may be tired of carrying the weight of government spending.

“Is it frustrating? Yeah, very. But we’re not going to give up,” he said. “I refuse to give up, and I’m just hoping that the deputies that we have here will continue to stay here and work in this agency.”

Livingston set to approve its own public safety tax

Meanwhile, a different public safety sales tax measure in Livingston, Measure L, is cruising toward approval, with 70.75% approval so far. Measure L is set to impose a 1% sales tax on goods purchased within the city limits.

Gurpal Samra, a Livingston City Councilmember, attributes Measure L’s success to outreach and a unified message.

While candidates for City Council and mayor may have opposed each other in their own races, Samra said, every candidate running for a city seat encouraged voters to support Measure L.

Measure L will enable the city to keep its lone fire station open with two firefighters on duty, in accordance with state staffing regulations. Any extra funding generated from the tax will be used for public safety purposes, going toward police and fire services.

Both sales tax initiatives were placed on the ballot as a result of Merced County’s struggle to better fund public safety. 

For example, the Sheriff’s Office has bled deputies to neighboring counties with better pay, leaving the department seriously short staffed. 

Additionally, Merced County is the only California county not meeting the state’s required minimum staffing for firefighters. To meet the requirement, the Board of Supervisors voted to close and consolidate some fire stations – including the one in Livingston.

While Samra shared his enthusiasm about Measure L, he said he was disappointed Measure R likely won’t pass.

“Just as public safety services are important to the city, it’s also important to the incorporated areas as well,” he said. 

“I know that our Sheriff’s Office – which the city relies on for backup services in case we need them for mutual aid – they’re so underfunded. With the shortage of deputies, it makes it harder for them to respond as well. So it’s kind of disappointing. I’m hoping that they will try again at another date.”

One more try for Measure R?

Although Measure R is on track to fail at the ballot box, there may be another way for it to succeed. 

County Supervisor Josh Pedrozo told The Merced FOCUS talks are already underway to get something moving forward. 

Pedrozo said he’s already discussed trying to get the sales tax passed through a citizen-led petition process, which would lower the approval requirement from two-thirds to a simple majority.

“We tried (the ballot measure) but I don’t think that it’s necessarily something that we’re not going to try again,” Pedrozo said. “I just think the citizens’ initiative is probably the better way to go.”

Once the election results are final, proponents of the tax will analyze where there were lower votes in favor of Measure R and strategize how to boost support.

Pedrozo pointed out that Measure V, the county’s transportation tax, was on the ballot three times before it passed.

He thanked the community for the support so far, and reiterated that he sees strong support for public safety from his colleagues on the board.

“I can just tell that public safety is something that’s very important to all of us,” he said. “The sheriff provides great service, as does county fire and as does the district attorney.

“We do everything we can to try and support them, to make them whole and to make sure that they have everything that they have to do their jobs,” he said. “It’s important to me, and it’s important to my colleagues.”