TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Philippe Eskandar, City Manager
BY: Hillary Guirola-Leon, Finance Director
DATE: April 8, 2026
SUBJECT: APPROVAL OF RESOLUTION NO. R-26-06 TO REESTABLISH FISCAL YEAR 2026-27 PUBLIC SAFETY
SPECIAL TAX LEVIES
STRATEGIC PLAN CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS
Efficient, Responsive, and Effective City Services
Fiscally Responsible and Transparent City Government
BACKGROUND
San Marino voters approved the adoption of a special tax in November 1980 on parcels of real property within the City. The special tax is to be used for the purposes of obtaining, providing, operating, and maintaining paramedic services, police equipment or apparatus therefor; paying the salaries and benefits to paramedic, police protection, and firefighting protection and prevention personnel; and for other necessary paramedic expenses, police protection expenses, and fire protection and prevention expenses of the City of San Marino. The parcel tax has been approved by the voters in twelve subsequent elections; it was most-recently approved as Ordinance No. O-24- 1412 for Fiscal Years beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2029.
Exhibit 1 to Ordinance No. O-24-1412 established the maximum special tax to be levied for each property zone for Fiscal Years 2026, 2027, 2028, and 2029. The annual maximum amounts specified in the Ordinance increase by 5% each year over the previous year’s maximum amount. The City Council must set the actual tax amount for each zone each year. From time to time, the City Council has acted to increase the levy to amounts that were less than the maximums established in the Ordinance. For the ten-year period of FY 2010-11 through FY 2019-20, the parcel tax was increased eight (8) times.
Tony Chou, Mayor
Calvin Lo, Vice Mayor
Hunter Chang, Council Member
John Chou, Council Member
Gretchen Shepherd Romey, Council Member
Seven (7) of these eight (8) times, the annual increase was 5% while in FY 2018-19, the tax was increased by 2%. For FY 2019-20, FY 2020-21, FY 2021- 22, FY 2022-23, and FY 2024-25 there was no increase. For FY 2023-24, there was an increase of 3%. For FY 2025-26, there was a 5% increase.
DISCUSSION
As mentioned above, the City Council has only increased the Public Safety Parcel Tax twice in the past five fiscal years. Over that same period, all inflationary costs such as materials and supplies have risen dramatically. The Consumer Price Index change for December 2025 was 3.0% and this factor drives future operational increases. A 5% increase in the Public Safety Parcel Tax will help absorb the increases seen over the years and the increase expected in the next FY.
Below is a table of how much the Public Safety Parcel Tax is as a percentage of the operating expenses incurred by the Police and Fire Departments over the years and next fiscal year’s estimates.
At this time, staff is recommending an increase in the public safety parcel tax rates of five percent (5%) compared to the prior year. The recommended increase is to offset the operational increases experienced in the Public Safety Fund. On average this is an increase of approximately $4 a month for residential zones. The recommended increase is needed to help fund operational increases experienced in the Public Safety Fund. Over the last five fiscal years (from FY 2022 to FY 2026), Public Safety Fund expenditures have P ublic S afety Tax
as % of
Year Measurem ent Am ount $ %
P ublic S afety Fund
E xpenses
Fiscal Year 2015-16 Audited 2,938,883 29%
Fiscal Year 2016-17 Audited 3,093,737 154,854 5.27% 26% Fiscal Year 2017-18 Audited 3,220,338 126,601 4.09% 29% Fiscal Year 2018-19 Audited 3,357,200 136,862 4.25% 29% Fiscal Year 2019-20 Audited 3,431,755 74,555 2.22% 27%
Fiscal Year 2020-21 Audited 3,426,827 (4,928) -0.14% 26% Fiscal Year 2021-22 Audited 3,421,901 (4,926) -0.14% 25% Fiscal Year 2022-23 Audited 3,439,456 17,555 0.51% 23%
Fiscal Year 2023-24 Audited 3,528,294 88,838 2.58% 19%
Fiscal Year 2024-25 Audited 3,535,722 7,428 0.22% 21%
Fiscal Year 2025-26 Estimated 3,704,976 169,254 4.79% 21% Fiscal Year 2026-27 Estimated 3,891,326 186,350 5.03% 21% P rior Year
P ublic S afety Tax History
Growth in Collections Over
increased by $3.9M (or 30%) while the Public Safety Parcel Tax has only increased by three percent (8%).
If Council were to choose to increase the public safety parcel tax rate at a different rate than staff’s recommendation, each percentage increase would generate approximately $37,050 of revenue compared to FY 2025-26.
A 5% revenue increase was included as part of the 5-year forecast presented to Council on March 11, 2026. A five percent (5%) increase would generate approximately $185,000 in revenue and this amount would help fund existing services. The revenue estimate for the public safety parcel tax that will be included in the FY 2026-27 Proposed Operating and Capital Budget will be based on the parcel tax amounts approved today. If the City Council decides on an increase, the tax will offset the amount that the General Fund subsidizes for paramedic expenses, police protection expenses, and fire protection and prevention expenses in the City.
FISCAL IMPACT & PROCUREMENT REVIEW
Staff is recommending an increase of five percent (5%) to the parcel tax next year. The anticipated total collection will be approximately $3,891,326 and will be included with the FY 2026-27 Proposed Operating and Capital Budget.
This report requires no procurement review.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney's office has reviewed and approved as to form.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council approve a 5% increase in the public safety parcel tax levy. If the City Council concurs with staff’s recommendation, an appropriate motion would be:
Public Safety
Parcel Tax
Revenue
Public Safety Fund
Expenditures
Fiscal Year 2021-22 (audited) 3,421,901 13,528,877
Fiscal Year 2025-26 (budgeted) 3,704,709 17,523,192
$ Increase 282,808 3,994,315
% Increase 8% 30%
“I move to approve Resolution No. R-26-06 establishing the Public Safety Special Tax Levies for Fiscal Year 2026-27.”
ATTACHMENTS
1. Resolution No. R-26-06 Reestablishing the Public Safety Special Tax Levies for Fiscal Year 2026-27
2. Exhibit A to Resolution No. R-26-06, Maximum Special Tax Levies
3. Exhibit B to Resolution No. R-26-06, FY 2025-26 and FY 2026-27 Rates and Estimated FY 2026-27 Total Levy
4. Ordinance No. O-24-1412 and Exhibit 1