Ventura May Consider 1% Sales Tax Measure

Ventura City Council is scheduled to decide on June 2 whether to send a 1% local sales tax increase to voters in the November 3, 2026 election. The proposal appears on the council agenda as a transactions and use tax measure requiring a two-thirds vote of all council members to be placed on the ballot. City election materials say the November ballot already will include races for City Council seats in Districts 1, 4, 5 and 6. Prior local reporting said the measure could raise about $36 million a year for city services. ### What exactly is the council voting on Tuesday? The June 2 agenda says Ventura council members will consider adopting a resolution calling a general municipal election and submitting one transactions and use tax measure to voters. The agenda does not itself spell out the ballot question in the excerpt available online, but it identifies the tax measure as part of the November 3 election package. The City of Ventura lists the November 3, 2026 election on its website and says voters in Districts 1, 4, 5 and 6 will elect council members that day. The same election page includes a section for 2026 ballot measures, indicating the city is preparing for possible local measures alongside those district races. ### How much would the tax rate change? California Department of Tax and Fee Administration rate tables list Ventura's sales and use tax rate at 7.75% effective April 1, 2026. The proposed increase described in local reporting would add 1 percentage point, taking the rate to 8.75% if voters approve it. Ojai Valley News reported that the increase would not begin before April 1, 2027. Reuters could not independently confirm that effective date from the agenda excerpt alone, but the timing is consistent with how California local sales tax changes are typically implemented on quarterly start dates. ### What has Ventura said it needs the money for? Ventura officials have been building the case for new revenue around capital needs and other budget pressures. An August 2025 staff report to the council said members had asked for options to fund future identified budgetary needs and reviewed examples drawn from unfunded capital projects, including Ventura Community Park build-out, a senior center, replacement fire stations, a westside pool, police and fire headquarters, and the corporate yard. A March 2026 capital improvement program report said the city's five-year CIP is the tool used to identify and prioritize infrastructure needs tied to Ventura's economic prosperity and quality of life. Separate CIP documents list numerous projects marked for the unfunded project list, including electrical upgrades, fire station work and street resurfacing items. Ojai Valley News reported that staff said Ventura has 155 unfunded capital projects. That figure was not visible in the city document excerpts reviewed by Reuters, but city records do show an established pipeline of unfunded and inactive projects across facilities, streets and other systems. ### How does this fit with Ventura's existing Measure O tax? Ventura voters approved Measure O in 2016, creating a 25-year half-cent transactions and use tax. The city says Measure O has provided more than $56.1 million since 2016 and has helped fund more than 60 citywide projects, including street resurfacing, sidewalk repairs, ADA improvements, urban forestry work, fire staffing and shoreline preservation. City budget documents estimate Measure O will generate about $17.5 million in fiscal 2026. That existing half-cent tax is separate from the newly proposed 1% increase now headed to the council. ### What happens next if the council approves it? A two-thirds vote of the Ventura City Council on June 2 would place the measure before voters in the November 3, 2026 general municipal election. Ventura's election page says candidate nomination papers for the four council districts are scheduled to open July 13 and close August 7. November 3, 2026 is the next concrete milestone. Ventura voters would then decide both the council races and any city ballot measure the council places before them.