Safety & Quality of Life Measure on Nov Ballot

For Immediate Release

Elk Grove, Calif. -- In response to community input over the past six months, the Elk Grove City Council, at its July 27 meeting, placed the Elk Grove Safety and Quality of Life measure on the November 2022 ballot to address essential services with locally controlled funding that cannot be taken by the State. 

"Putting this measure on the ballot allows the Elk Grove community to decide if they want to allocate additional funding that stays local to meet the community’s increasing service needs and address their shared priorities," said Elk Grove City Manager Jason Behrmann. 

For the past six months, the City and Cosumnes Community Services District have gathered ideas, opinions, and priorities from residents through a mix of online and in-person community engagement and discussions. The top priorities shared by residents reflect community wide needs including: 

• Rapid 911, fire, police, medial emergency and disaster response 
• Keeping public areas safe and clean 
• Crime reduction 
• Addressing homelessness  
• Maintaining streets 
• Maintaining parks 
• Youth crime and gang prevention programs 
• Attracting and retaining local businesses and jobs 

Guided by community input, if the measure is enacted, revenues could provide additional funding to: 

Community Identified Needs and Priorities 

Public Safety 

Reducing Crime 

Provide additional public safety resources in order to keep our neighborhoods safe and reduce crime. Increase neighborhood police patrols, ensure the Police Department is attracting, retaining, and adequately equipping public safety professionals and pursue new, innovative approaches to reducing crime. 

Addressing homelessness

Provide resources to address mental health, substance abuse, and job training needs while ensuring our local businesses, residential neighborhoods, and public areas are safe and secure for everyone. 

Improve 911, police, fire, and emergency disaster and emergency medical response 

Improve 911 emergency response times, at both the Police and Fire Departments, to ensure that calls for service meet national response time standards. 

Enhancing programs to combat youth crime and gang prevention 

Fund property and violent crime investigation and prevention, and address crimes related to youth and gangs including supporting after school recreational and enrichment programs to keep youth actively engaged and supported for a bright future.

Roads and Parks Safety 

Maintaining Streets 

Maintain pothole repair and enhance major roads to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion for the safety of all drivers, bikers, and pedestrians, including safe routes for school kids walking or biking. 

Maintaining Parks 

Maintain and repair public bathrooms, landscaping, sports fields, deteriorating playgrounds and equipment, including security lighting to keep play spaces clean and safe for children and families. 

Quality of Life 

Clean and Safe Public Areas 

Keep public areas safe and clean for community members as well as visitors. Implement programs that directly impact visual blight as well as ensuring a safe community for all. 

Economic Development 

Attract and retain local businesses and jobs to ensure a robust local economy.

If enacted, the Elk Grove Safety and Quality of Life measure would establish a one-cent sales tax generating locally controlled funding to address essential services and community priorities. The measure requires independent citizen oversight, annual audits, and public disclosure of spending. 

The measure will be on the November 8, 2022, ballot. 

More information about the Elk Grove Safety and Quality of Life measure can be found in the staff report presented to the City Council. 

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