San Gabriel Valley : Utility Tax Cut Gains

Covina residents might not be able to make up their minds about utility taxes, but come next year, they will probably be paying less.

The council voted Tuesday to lower the tax from 8.25% to 7%, after a $400,000 windfall in tax revenue this year, said Councilman Tom Falls. The cut will save about $22 per household if it passes in a final December vote, said Mayor Thomas O’Leary. The utility tax has long been a controversial subject in Covina, and the latest chapter in the saga is no exception.

“The utility tax shouldn’t be there in the first place,” said Hank Vagt of the Covina Citizens for Action Committee. Vagt said he would like to see the tax go before a public vote, but an advisory ballot earlier this month showed 54% of voters supporting the tax, Falls said.