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Riverside County, CA November 4, 2014 Election
Measure H
Allocate Revenue for Marketing Campaign?
City of Palm Desert
Advisory Vote - Majority Approval Required

Fail: 3,935 / 34.22% Yes votes ...... 7,565 / 65.78% No votes

See Also: Index of all Measures
Results as of November 21 7:51am, 100.00%% of Precincts Reporting (20/20)
Information shown below: Impartial Analysis | Arguments |

If the City of Palm Desert's Transient Tax, as set forth in Chapter 328 of the Palm Desert Municipal Code is increased from 9% to 11%, should the City solely allocate the additional revenue for promotional efforts, including advertising, public relations, special event publicity, marketing collateral development, the City's BrightSide newsletter, and the official Palm Desert tourism website to maintain a consistent image for the City's local, regional, and national marketing campaign?

Impartial Analysis
Measure "H" is an advisory measure concerning the recommended expenditure of new City of Palm Desert Transient Occupancy Tax ("TOT") revenues if Measure "G" is approved by the voters.

Measure "H", which has been placed on the ballot by the City Council of the City of Palm Desert, does not increase the TOT. Rather, Measure "H" allows voters within the City of Palm Desert to voice their opinions on whether they believe the City should allocate the additional 2% of TOT revenue, if Measure "G" is approved, to promotional efforts including advertising, public relations, special event publicity, marketing collateral development, the City's monthly BrightSide newsletter, and the official Palm Desert tourism website to maintain a consistent image for the City's local, regional, and national marketing campaigns.

Section 9603(c) of the California Elections Code governing the purpose and effect of such an advisory vote states:
"...`advisory vote' means an indication of general voter opinion regarding the ballot proposal. The result of the advisory vote will in no manner be controlling on the sponsoring legislative body."

The opinion expressed through the vote on this advisory measure, while of interest to the City Council, is not legally controlling on the City Council's use of the TOT revenue. If a majority of the voters vote "yes" on this measure, it will be an indication to the City Council that voters believe that the City Council should spend the additional TOT revenue on the promotional efforts described above.

The above statement is an impartial analysis of Measure "H". If you desire a copy of the Resolution regarding Measure "H" (Resolution No. 2014-25), please call the election official's office at (760) 346-0611 and a copy will be mailed at no cost to you.

By: David J. Erwin, Esq. City Attorney, City of Palm Desert

  
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Arguments For Measure H Arguments Against Measure H
(No arguments in favor were submitted)

As stated in my opposition to Measure "G" I urge you to vote no on Measure "H". Palm Desert has very successfully marketed itself for the past forty-one years, spending over a million dollars a year plus the dollars spent on special events, the Bright Side Newsletter and on the website. Money is already available for continuing or expanding these programs keeping the TOT at 9 percent encourages meeting planners and tourists to book our hotels and saves this source of income for when a real financial emergency occurs.

By: Jean M. Benson Councilmember, City of Palm Desert

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Created: July 23, 2015 14:57 PDT
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