Preserving Quality of Life and City Services in Redlands
The City of Redlands is planning for the future! Here in
Redlands, we’re a big town with a small town feel. As Redlands
plans for the future, we strive to preserve our city services and
residents’ quality of life.
Redlands is one of the few cities in the County with its own
Police and Fire Departments, guaranteeing our police and
firefighters are available when needed and not diverted to
service other cities. However, calls for 9-1-1 emergencies, crime
rates and fire risks are all much higher than in the past, and we
have fewer police officers, firefighters and paramedics in
Redlands today than we did 10 years ago.
Ensuring that the City can respond quickly to 9-1-1 emergencies
and tackle issues like homelessness, will require additional
public safety resources and is critical to saving lives and
keeping our community a safe place to live. Additionally, the
City’s streets, sidewalks, parks, storm drains and other
infrastructure require basic repairs and maintenance. When these
repairs are not addressed, they become a lot more expensive to
repair in the future.
Potential Local Sales Tax Measure
Though the City has created a balanced budget every year for the
past 12 years, the scope of the City’s needs is greater than the
current resources available. Despite being fiscally conservative,
the City is facing an $5.6 million budget shortfall that is
expected to widen in the future due to the current economic
climate.
The Redlands City Council is exploring the best way to preserve
the City’s public safety, city services and local infrastructure,
including placing a one-cent sales tax measure on the November
2020 ballot. A local measure could address needs across the
community, including but not limited to:
- Addressing the homeless problem
- Maintaining police services including neighborhood police
patrols, crime prevention and investigations
- Reducing gang activity and drug-related crimes
- Keeping public areas, parks and recreation facilities
well-maintained and free of graffiti and maintaining public
buildings and infrastructure including sidewalks, curbs and storm
drains
- Providing fire protection and paramedic services and
replacing outdated lifesaving and firefighting equipment
Fiscal Accountability Required
A potential local sales tax measure would require fiscal
accountability protections, including:
- Currently, nearly all of the sales tax generated locally goes
to the State or the County – all money raised by the potential
measure would stay in Redlands to address local needs
- By law, no funds could be taken away by the State
- A clear system of accountability would be required, including
independent citizens’ oversight and annual audits to ensure that
the money is spent properly
- Groceries, prescription medicine and other essential items
would be excluded from the sales tax measure
We Want to Hear from You
We have collected over 1,000 survey responses to date. This has
helped us learn more about the community’s priorities as we
explore a potential sales tax measure. We invite you to continue
to make your voice heard and click below to complete our brief
survey.
For More Information
Contact Public Information Officer Carl Baker at (909) 798-7687
or email: info@cityofredlands.org
Links and Downloads
Informational Handout
Community Mailer 1
Community Mailer 2
June 16, 2020 City Council Presentation on Voter Survey Results
Community PowerPoint Presentation
