CALABASAS VOTERS TO SETTLE TAX BATTLE.

Byline: - Daily News

CALABASAS - A 5 percent city tax tacked on to residents' phone and utility bills could be eliminated under a proposal on Tuesday's ballot.

The initiative, co-sponsored by City Council candidate Karmen Brower, seeks to eliminate the tax, which constitutes the city's second-largest source of revenue next to the sales tax.

But opponents of the measure say the city depends on the money to maintain a high quality of life with amenities such as extra police patrol. Moreover, they say the elimination of the tax would take effect in July, when the city will begin to feel the effects of the state's fiscal crisis.

The tax accounts for 18 percent of the city's general fund budget or about $2.5 million this fiscal year, said Donald Duckworth, the city's manager.

Foes of the measure have raised nearly $18,000, mostly from local business owners, including $3,000 in loans. They waged a mailer campaign rivaled by measure supporters, called the Coalition for Competent Leadership, though no financial statements have been filed with the city or the county on the supporters' behalf for the period covering this year.

Backers of the measure argue that Calabasas charges burdensome taxes and then spends frivolously on unnecessary consultants.

Banning the tax, Brower said, ``is one thing that is going to help people keep their home and keep their business.''