Hello, and happy 2020. Every January, the city asks you how Measure V funds should be spent via an online and print survey.
For those of you unfamiliar with this key funding source, here’s a quick primer.
What is Measure V?
Approved by voters in 2012,Measure V is a half-cent sales tax that has generated between $1.8 million to $2.1 million each year to help fund vital city services and programs. All the revenue is spent locally to benefit Healdsburg community members under these four priorities from the city council: street maintenance and repair; public safety; maintenance of city facilities; and economic development.
Street maintenance and repair: Thanks to Measure V, we’ve smoothed and maintained 46 lane miles of road — that’s 48% — of the city’s 96 lane miles. We’ve also leveraged Measure V funds to ease traffic congestion at the Dry Creek Road and U.S. 101 interchange by adding stops signs, a turning lane and marking the pavement to improve traffic flow. Measure V has also paid for the repair of uneven sidewalks in various areas of the city.
Public safety: While the Kincade Fire is now in our rearview mirror, we continue to proactively prepare for future crises. In part, that means having the appropriate staffing levels for fire and police. Measure V has funded several of these public-safety positions, as well as fire/police equipment such as two-way radios and improvements to the police station and fire station.
Economic development: Measure V has helped the Healdsburg Chamber of Commerce in its business-retention and business-outreach efforts and funded its public-relations campaign after the Kincade Fire to attract more people to stay, dine and shop in Healdsburg. This sales-tax measure has also provided utility discounts for low-income residents and helped the nonprofit Corazon Healdsburg hold bilingual financial-literacy classes to residents, among other programs.
City facility maintenance: Measure V has funded repairs and upgrades to the Senior Center, such as a new HVAC system, as well as other city facilities, including the Community Center and Corporation Yard.
In Your Mailbox: Measure V Survey
If you live in Healdsburg, you should have already received or will shortly receive the one-page English- and Spanish-language Measure V survey in the mail. If you’d rather take the survey online, go to our city website, http://bit.ly/Measure-V, to complete a digital version of the survey. We’ve also shared this link on our Facebook (www.facebook.com/cityofhealdsburg/) and Nextdoor (http://bit.ly/HbgNxtDoor) pages. You have until Feb. 6 to submit your responses. We look forward to seeing your survey results.
Looking Ahead: The Future of Measure V
Measure V is a 10-year measure, which means that it will automatically expire in 2023. To ensure that the city has the financial resources to continue funding the key priorities above, one of the city council’s 2018-2020 goals was to place a ballot measure on the November 2020 election to extend Measure V.
Before this fall’s election, we will conduct a community survey to gauge resident support to continue Measure V. We anticipate that this survey will be open for your input in the spring. We will provide more updates in a future Cityscape column and on the city website and social-media pages.
Joe Irvin is the Assistant City Manager of Healdsburg.
