Eureka City Hall wants voters to approve a TOT (Transient Occupancy Tax) increase from 10% to 12% which, if approved, is predicted to increase revenue by $700,00 per year.

Eureka City Hall has a $2.1 million increase in expenses this FY 2026 - 2027 due to increased employee salary and health care costs, retirement fund payouts, and liability insurance. In addition, Eureka has a $4 million budget deficit this year.

My concern is, in a recent meeting with the residents in Shelter Cove, Sheriff Honsal acknowledged Humboldt County no longer funds a resident deputy in Shelter Cove due to staffing cuts because Measure Z funds, originally promised in part for rural resident deputies, have been used to backfill general fund positions cut elsewhere in the county budget.

Please explain where this proposed $700,000 increase in funding from a TOT increase will be spent and how it will make it past this $2,100,000 cost increase and $4,000,000 budget deficit and not be used to backfill current economic needs at City Hall.

— Patrick Cloney

 

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