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Facing a $3.5 million general fund deficit and a mounting road repair backlog, the Woodland City Council voted Tuesday to place a one-cent sales tax measure on the November ballot that officials say would generate about $16 million annually for city services.
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The council still must review the ballot measure language and formally approve it, which is expected June 16.
Woodland’s slow-growth strategy has limited revenue growth while city expenses have continued. The city has substantially fewer employees than neighboring jurisdictions. Woodland has the same number of employees as it did 15 years ago, but serves a population that is 15% larger, according to a staff report about the tax proposal.
The city faces other financial headwinds, including a $150 million road repaving backlog.
Woodland faces a general fund deficit of about $3.5 million. The proposed 2026-27 budget includes a 12% increase in citywide spending and a general fund increase of about $2.2 million, according to a staff report. A budget committee identified more than $1 million in deficit reductions by deferring maintenance, reducing some contract and program costs, and freezing six vacant positions.
“We do have a forecasted deficit, there’s no question about it,” Councilmember Rich Lansburgh said.
The public needs to know that without increased revenue, there will be a significant reduction in city services, he said.
“That’s the last thing we need for our fire department and our police department and our water department and our streets department,” he said. “We just don’t need that in this community.”
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Other council members agreed the city’s path forward requires increasing revenue rather than cutting services.
“I don’t see any fat to trim,” Councilmember Mayra Vega said. “We run a lean operation.”
Woodland’s budget also calls for about $30 million in capital improvement spending, including more than $10 million for water and sewer projects and nearly $8 million for transportation projects.
Woodland voters approved a half-cent sales tax increase in 2016 and a quarter-cent increase in 2020, generating about $8 million and $4 million annually, respectively. Both measures are scheduled to expire in 2030. The measure being considered for the November election does not have a sunset provision.
The city did not pass a tax increase proposed in November 2024. That measure, Measure U, proposed a one-cent sales tax increase for eight years. A 2024 survey of Woodland Chamber of Commerce members found that most members were supportive of Measure U, but about 20% of members thought the tax would have a negative impact on their businesses. Voters opposed Measure U by a margin of about 6%.
If the measure is placed on the November ballot, it will join at least one other local tax proposal. The Yolo County Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday to place a measure on the November ballot raising the hotel tax in unincorporated areas of the county, which would require countywide voter approval.
Supervisor Sheila Allen raised concerns at a recent board meeting about placing too many tax measures on a single ballot. If there are too many tax proposals, voters may reflexively reject them all, or approve the first and oppose the rest on principle regardless of their impact, Allen said.
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