Measure P is a sales tax initiative that seeks to clean up, fix, and better maintain all of Fresno’s parks, whose total acreage is approximately 1500 acres. Anyways, Measure P was voted on in 2018, 2 years from now. It did not pass because it only got 52% yes votes, as sales tax initiatives require a super majority (66.7%). So how did it just pass today? It’s not that there was another vote for it, but that California’s Fifth District Court of Appeals ruled that only a simple majority (More than 50%) is required for Measure P to pass, so, it passed just today. It’s certainly interesting to me that Measure P didn’t need to have a revote, especially since opponents of Measure P were operating on the assumption that a yes vote of 66.7% is required.

As a sales tax initiative, Fresno’s sales tax rate (STR), which is currently 7.975%, will now be 8.35%, a 0.375% increase. (California’s STR is 7.25% by the way, so Fresno’s own STR is 1.1%, thus totaling 8.35%. It’s worth noting that total STR is capped at 10.25%). This sales tax initiative is estimated to bring in $37,500,000 a year. Measure P’s lifespan is 30 years, which means that it would likely total over one billion dollars at its end. To show how it would affect the average Fresnan, that means $3.25 a month ($39 annually) per household. The current Mayor, Lee Brand, and Jerry Dyer, Mayor-Elect, were apparently were opponents of Measure P, but upon passing, it appears they will go along with the court’s ruling.

Sources: The linked articles from YourCentralValley.com