Seeking to offer Palo Alto voters some reassurance about how funds from the city’s proposed business tax would be spent, the City Council this week passed a resolution pledging to devote the funds to three categories: transportation, housing and public safety.
The resolution, which the council passed by a 6-1 vote, with Greg Tanaka dissenting, aims to address one of the leading criticisms that had emerged from the business community in the lead up to the council’s decision earlier this month to place the tax measure on the November ballot. Because it is a general tax, with proceeds going into the general fund, the city has broad discretion over how the money would be spent.
The Silicon Valley Leadership Group and the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce had urged the council to instead pursue a special tax that explicitly dedicated funds toward a particular project. Such a measure, however, would