CALIFORNIA CITY EYES TAX FOR $85.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

CALIFORNIA CITY - California City voters will go to the polls Tuesday to decide on a special tax of $85 per parcel per year to help fund city services.

The tax, listed as Measure G on the ballot, would be in place for five years if it is approved by the voters. The measure requires a two-thirds majority to pass.

A current parcel tax of $75 will expire in June.

The tax would raise approximately $3.5 million a year for city services: $1 million for fire services; $821,000 for police; $856,000 for street repairs; and $357,000 for parks and recreation.

The tax would also provide $464,000 a year to replace aging water lines. The city has about 40 miles of water lines more than 40 years old. These pipes were not new but used ones when they were installed 40 years ago, city officials said.

Maintaining deteriorating pipes is costing the city about $240,000 a year, officials said.

A parcel tax was adopted in the 1980s to augment the city budget. The tax, then $53 a year, was in effect until the 1990s when voters rejected four different attempts to reinstate it.

The rejection of parcel tax measures during that time was attributed to a distrust of the city's government.

The tax, upped to $75, has since been approved twice. Supporters point out that many citizens were active in figuring out how the money should be spent. An advisory committee was formed to determine how the money should be used.