Riverside voters will be asked in November to increase sales taxes by 1 cent to pay for city services such as emergency response, homeless programs and road repair.

The City Council voted 5-0 Tuesday night, Aug. 9, to put the measure to a public vote. Councilmen Paul Davis and Chris Mac Arthur were absent.

The decision makes Riverside the county’s fourth city to seek a sales tax increase this fall.

The Hemet, Menifee and Temecula city councils recently decided to ask residents for sales tax increases of 1 percentage point.

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If voters agree, the initiative – called the “City of Riverside Public Safety and Vital City Services Measure” – would increase city sales taxes from 8 percent to 9 percent, or 9 cents per dollar. For example, the tax on a $100 item would be $9.

After 20 years, the issue would automatically come up for voters to decide whether it should continue.

Council members said the measure would help the city do things residents want, like restaff a depleted police department, trim trees and fix sidewalks. They’ve also suggested boosting reserves and addressing long-term needs such as a new police headquarters.

“I am not a proponent of taxes. I hate them,” Councilman Mike Soubirous said, but “as a council member I have a duty and responsibility to all the people of Riverside to deliver … a vibrant, economically strong and functioning city five, 10 and 15 years down the road from now.”

The tax proposal comes about two months after a painful budget process in which the council cut $10.5 million from 2016-17 spending to avoid a deficit.

City officials said then that the cuts would mean less frequent tree trimming and street paving, some vacant city jobs wouldn’t be filled, and the fire department would have to take one squad out of service each day.

Raising the sales tax would bring an estimated $48 million to $51 million a year to the city’s general fund. The council would decide how to spend it. City Manager John Russo has said new revenue could restore some recent cuts, prevent cuts to services such as 911, and pay for future needs such as a new police headquarters and a downtown library.

A handful of residents spoke about the tax measure. Critics charged that it didn’t get enough public vetting and said the city still wastes money on unnecessary frills.

Resident Jim Buysee said no one has fully explained “what caused the city to go from feast to famine in so short a time.”

He also complained that the city hasn’t said exactly what it would do with the money.

Supporters said the proposal would help maintain the city’s quality of life, but several also urged the council to include a sunset clause that would eventually end the tax.

Some city officials seem confident the tax measure will pass, after poll results released in July showed more than 60 percent of those surveyed said they’d definitely or probably vote yes.

While the city can’t legally spend taxpayers’ money to promote the measure, it will have some influential allies. The Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce President Cindy Roth said the business group backs the measure, and Riverside City Firefighters Association President Tim Strack said the union will campaign for it.

The police and fire budgets shrank in the latest budget, and future years don’t look better without more revenue, Strack said.

“To ensure the city’s public safety stays intact as the city grows … we’ve got to firm up the revenue stream,” he said.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9461 or arobinson@scng.com