All Measure V funds would remain local and be controlled by the City Council. The primary reason this local sales tax was originally brought to Sonoma voters in 2012 was the State takeaway of millions of dollars in local redevelopment revenue. By law, locally approved sales taxes cannot be taken away by the State.
In recent years, the City of Sonoma has taken many steps to increase financial transparency and accountability. These include multi-year financial forecasting and capital planning, improved cost-recovery for fee-based services, an updated financial reserves policy, and monthly reporting to the City Council on revenues, expenditures, and investment transactions.
A statewide assessment of the fiscal health of cities by the California State Auditor put the City of Sonoma in the highest rated category for ability to meet financial challenges. The Auditor’s assessment looked at five criteria (liquidity, debt burden, retirement obligations, revenue trends, and financial reserves) to assess level of risk for financial challenges. Sonoma was assessed at “Low Risk”.