Ceres voters were willing to enact a half-cent sales tax on Nov. 5, 2007 to beef up public safety.
That was a half-cent increase and one of the things promised was a Street Crimes Unit. Almost immediately, the city established a Street Crimes Unit to crack down on gangs and street crimes like drug sales, assaults and drive-by shootings.
Well as you guessed it, costs rose and expenditures exceeded revenues and the Street Crimes Unit and crime analyst went bye-bye. Slowly the council eroded the city’s savings account from a minimum of 18 percent to 11 percent.
And since the time Measure H was passed, the city decided it couldn’t afford providing fire service on its own and now contracts with Modesto Fire. (Don’t get me wrong – Modesto Fire provides an elevated level of service).
Now the city is asking voters for not another half-cent sales tax but a full cent sales tax. That would give Ceres the highest sales tax in the county. Modesto’s rate is 8.875 percent. By contrast, Milpitas has a sales tax of 10 percent. The highest in the state are both Lancaster and Palmdale at 11.25 percent. For every dollar in taxable sales made in Ceres, you would shell out 9.375 cents. But wherever you buy a car in California you will be paying the Ceres sales tax rate, not the rate of the city in which you are making the purchase. Thus, a $50,000 car you buy in Sacramento or San Jose or Modesto or anywhere inside or outside of Ceres will cost you $500 extra under Measure P than what you would pay today.
Reform California, Carl DeMaio’s conservative organization opposed to additional taxation, is recommending a “no” vote on Measure P and also “no” on the Modesto City School District property tax increase in Measure K, the city of Patterson’s sales tax increase in Measure L and no on the Sylvan Union School District Property tax increase in Measure N.
Josh Steeley picked up on something I had during the Sept. 6 Town Hall meeting: The city deliberately placed its thumb on the scales when it came to naming the ballot title for Measure P. The title reads: “CERES 911 EMERGENCY RESPONSE, COMMUNITY SAFETY, ESSENTIAL SERVICES MEASURE.”
The title would lead one to believe that this is solely a public safety tax but the money will go into the General Fund for which other things are paid: parks, streets, recreation, community event support, council benefits, planning staff and salary increases, administrative salaries, finance department salaries, etc. Yes, I get that like 78 percent of the General Fund goes to police and fire, but let’s not pretend like this measure is solely about emergency services. It would enable the city to restore areas that have been cut, like summer swimming program which I would not exactly call an essential service.
A more accurate title for Measure P would be “MORE MONEY FOR THE GENERAL FUND UNTIL WE RUN OUT IN 20 YEARS AND NEED ANOTHER TAX INCREASE MEASURE.”
The city could have made this tax solely dedicated to police and fire expenditures – but it didn’t. Do you know why? Because a specific tax would have needed a 66.6 percent plus one majority for passage and you can bet the city saw trouble in that scenario. A survey performed by Community Issues conducted June 14-25 by FM3 Research indicated that 62 percent of respondents indicated they would support the measure.
That survey was over a year ago when gas prices were closer to $4.33 a gallon while gas prices have risen 15.9 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $6.06 per gallon today, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 201 stations in Modesto. Prices in Modesto are 60.8 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and stand $1.74 per gallon higher than a year ago.
Will Measure P get 50 percent plus one today? I’ve my doubts and so do some city employees. Voter attitudes toward sales tax increases harden when living expenses are comfortable and they are not. In 2007 Measure H passed with 75.12 percent of the vote for and 24.88 percent against. Remember that was a half-cent increase and gas was $3 per gallon, now pushing $6 after the state gas tax increase in July.
If Measure P passes, you can bet the city will push full throttle on spending. Measure P would infuse $9.4 million annually into a General Fund of $27.8 million. The council adopted its 2026-27 budget by deep cuts in services and avoided a $5.5 million deficit. That’s what should be expected of government officials just as households must cut spending when income does not cover expenses. Cutting of parks staff and recreation is akin to you cutting your dining out budget or your cable TV expenses, driving less or settling for hamburger instead of steak.
I keep wondering if the city should have proposed a more modest increase, like a quarter-cent or half-cent.
Ceres resident Dave Pratt is skeptical, noting at the Town Hall how an infusion of tax revenue allows a city to expedite spending in other areas.
My concern is how the state allows conditions that continually drain city coffers by mandating things and not paying for them. The state has slowly been keeping more tax money for itself, robbing the government agencies that have the most direct impact of our lives. During the early 1990s, California had severe state budget problems. The Legislature and Governor responded by redirecting property taxes away from cities, counties, and special districts toward schools. Jerry Brown also did away with redevelopment agencies in 2012, meaning cities like Ceres could no longer invest in their infrastructures and improve their community.
Pension costs are also out of control.
We truly need a change of direction with state leadership, steering away from the Democrats who have a stranglehold on policies that are making California unaffordable for most. But it appears Californians haven’t suffered enough as it looks like Xavier Becerra will be elected and he will continue with Newsom policies that have screwed over California. Until people wise up, nothing will change – except for more people leaving.
The LA Times headline “High cost of living tops voter concerns, Becerra remains front-runner in governor’s race, new poll shows” illustrates this point clearly. It’s akin to letting another fox into the hen house while complaining about our chickens being eaten alive.
* * * * *
Reform California is recommending “do not retain” votes on every associate justice on the Fifth District California Court of Appeal as well as Kelli Evans and Joshua Groban on the California State Supreme Court.
* * * * *
The liberal California State Supreme Court ruled that Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco broke the law when he took over 650,000 ballot in his investigation of voter fraud. They were seized from the Riverside County Elections Division.
The court held that Bianco broke the law when he ignored directives from Attorney General Rob Bonta (the fox in charge of the hen house) to hold off on his plans to execute a search warrant to seize the ballots last March.
The elected law enforcement official wanted to investigate why the numbers weren’t adding up in Riverside County. Bianco claimed that a group of citizen volunteers audited the election results and found that machines had counted about 45,000 more votes than physical ballots or handwritten logs recorded. Based on these claims, Bianco’s department executed a search warrant in February 2026 and seized approximately 650,000 ballots from the Riverside County Registrar of Voters to conduct a criminal investigation. Riverside election officials and Bonta disputed the claim, stating the discrepancy was unfounded and amounted to only a minor difference (roughly 103 ballots).
I think the claim is worthy of an investigation by the top law enforcement agency in Riverside County because there are indications that corruption is rampant statewide and there is little concern of the AG to do anything about it. Even if it was 103 ballots off, that’s reason to question the integrity of election outcomes in California.
Of course, Bonta threw a hissy fit over it because he isn’t about to look into voter fraud, nor does he care because his party benefits from it. Who then will be the watchdog for illegal voting if it weren’t for people like Chad Bianco, who are genuinely concerned about those who are voting in elections illegally? We could bypass this whole issue by supporting Proposition 39 on the ballot that will require all voters to prove that they are legal residents who are able to vote.
It’s a no-brainer to me. I visited family in the Sonora hospital on Sunday and guess what I had to show before I was allowed to proceed past the lobby? My California driver’s license! We have to show ID to buy certain cold medicines, or to buy alcohol or tobacco or get on an airplane. It’s part of life. It needs to be a part of voting life too.
This column is the opinion of Jeff Benziger, and does not necessarily represent the opinion of The Ceres Courier or 209 Multimedia Corporation. How do you feel about this? Let Jeff know at jeffb@cerescourier.com
