I.V. Community Rejects Special Tax Proposal
Bed Tax Takes Backseat to Community Services District Funding
Isla Vista Recreation and Park District (IVRPD) boardmembers decided not to place a special tax on the county’s November ballot after concerns over lack of transparency — and over possibly jeopardizing the passage of the user utility tax for I.V.’s community services district (CSD) — were raised in a Thursday public meeting.
Chairperson Pegeen Soutar acknowledged the criticism and proposed holding a special election by mail in the first half of 2017. A special mail-in ballot for the tax is estimated to cost between $50,000 and $60,000, while the placement on this year’s November ballot would have only cost $11,000.
Discussions of placing a special tax on the ballot started around February, according to Soutar, due to worries that California’s drought would severely impact I.V.’s parks. After missing the deadline to place the special tax on the June primary ballot, the idea of a November placement began to wander through boardmembers’ minds.
