Sonoma residents will face decision on upping the city's sales tax

The half-cent sales tax measure, meant to fund city services like parks and recreation, will go before residents in November.

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If you're in the city limits of Sonoma, there'll be an additional tax measure on your ballot in November. One the city says it needs to keep services running.

Sonoma officials estimate the half-cent sales tax would generate close to $3 million a year for city coffers.

Sonoma says it's contending with a jump in city pension obligations and fire district costs going up by over a quarter million dollars.

And a $873-thousand dollar increase in the police contract.

City manager David Guhin said simple belt tightening won't correct Sonoma's budget issue amid declining hotel and sales tax revenue, which has already created a $2.8 million dollar hole in the current budget.

"Looking into the future is does not get much better," Guhin said. "We don't see that correcting or crossing, so that is essentially the definition of a structural deficit, that is something that can't just be solved by holding back costs this year and hoping it's going to get better."

Guhin said increasing the current sales tax shouldn't be regarded as a silver bullet for stabilizing the budget.

"There's a laundry list of things that we have to do," Guhin said. "We can't solve this budget deficit with this one item. This is one of many items that we have to address, and so cost-cutting, reductions, fees, getting the cemeteries off the general fund, all these different things that we have going on we have to address."

Sonoma's city council has given unanimous support to the new tax measure.

That means come November, registered voters in the City of Sonoma will have the chance to give the thumbs up or down to the tax hike, which the city said will also go towards traffic safety projects, parks and recreation, and affordable housing.

The current sales tax in Sonoma is set at 9%.

The countywide Measure H, passed by voters in March to fund fire services will increase that rate to 9.5% in October.

If the new measure is approved, that will bump Sonoma's sales tax up to 10%, and if county voters approve another measure on the ballot for child care, the City of Sonoma's tax rate would hit 10.25%; the maximum sales tax allowed in California.