After allegedly balancing the city budget, and welcoming many new businesses, Hawthorne Mayor Alex Vargas and city council will possibly seek the public’s vote to raise the city sales tax from 9.25% to 10.25%. Why are city leaders so eager to tax residents? Was the mayor lying to constituents about the city being solvent during last years “State of the City” and was that lie corroborated by the Daily Breeze? Perhaps its time to call former Mayor Chris Brown, who has become a powerhouse consultant in the marijuana industry, to assist the city make ends meet as opposed to levying higher taxes on voters.
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The Daily Breeze and Mayor Vargas are publicly heralding potential revenue from the shuttered Hawthorne Mall site, yet, many are wondering if Charles & Co will be able to get the project up and running. For if it were truly “on-line” to open, why the city need to hurriedly raise the city sales tax?
Demographics show the average household income is $47,703 with a median household income of $41,296. Can Hawthorne voters afford this increase?
Related: Hawthorne wants to consider emergency sales tax hike to remain solvent
During the 2016 city of Hawthorne State of the City, Mayor Vargas proclaimed:
I am honored to serve alongside my fellow city colleagues. Together we have worked hard to bring the city back on track,” Vargas said, at the luncheon hosted by Hawthorne of Commerce and emcee’d by South Bay Workforce Investment Board Director Jan Vogel.
“We have turned a corner in our city’s economic recovery,” Vargas said. “But even though we can claim huge successes, there is still work to be done. This City Council inherited a budget in crisis but we emerge victorious, one step at a time.
For the amount of education the dais has, residents should expect far more innovation when it comes to bringing in new revenue.
To put this in perspective, Compton Mayor Aja Brown expects to generate over $7 million from a recent sales tax increase of 1 cent. According to the Board of Equalization (BOE), the city of Compton only received $6 million during fiscal year 2014-15, while Hawthorne received $11 million.
Today’s meeting begins at 6:00 p.m. and if unanimously approved, voters will decide on November 7th.
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