Woodland leaders are inching toward a big ask from local shoppers: a one-cent city sales tax that could pump roughly $16 million a year into everything from pothole repairs to police and park staffing.
The Woodland City Council is debating whether to put the tax question on the November ballot as a general-purpose measure meant to bolster core services and chip away at long-delayed repairs. If voters sign off, city staff project the new rate would kick in on April 1, 2027. Councilmembers have told staff to be ready with spending scenarios if they decide to pull the trigger and formally send the measure to voters.
City Manager Ken Hiatt has urged the council to consider the one-cent proposal, with the election itself expected to cost somewhere between $40,000 and $60,000, according to the Daily Democrat. Draft ballot wording leans heavily on themes of local control, independent annual audits and public-facing spending reports. Officials are framing it as a general city services tax rather than a single-project bond, which would give the council flexibility in how to use the money.
The push is driven by a structural budget problem that has been quietly widening in the background. Staff recently warned that the 2026–27 budget could face about a $4.6 million gap and asked departments to line up roughly $460,000 in one-time cuts while they hunt for longer-term fixes, as reported by Abridged/PBS KVIE. That outlet also noted the council already tried a similar tax measure and lost in 2024, a reminder that voters have not exactly been a rubber stamp on revenue ideas. City officials say they want any new dollars paired with strong oversight so basic services are not chipped away every budget cycle.
The concept is not new to City Hall. In 2024, staff prepared documents outlining a one-cent supplemental transactions and use tax that was projected to generate about $16.5 million annually. That earlier staff report, prepared for the council by Hiatt, laid out draft ballot language that again highlighted audits and local spending rules, summarized polling and outreach work that shaped the proposal and suggested returning with a formal resolution if the council wanted to advance it. The City of Woodland staff materials include the draft wording and fiscal breakdown.
What the measure would pay for
Roads and basic infrastructure are front and center in the sales tax pitch. City presentations and local coverage put street maintenance at the top of the to-do list, with the Daily Democrat reporting that Woodland has identified roughly $150 million in roadway maintenance needs, compared with a general fund that runs just over $75 million. The same coverage notes that full-time city staffing has historically lagged even as the local population has grown, a combination that has made it harder to maintain service levels across departments.
The latest draft ballot language would keep any new revenue under local control and explicitly require independent audits and public reporting, a nod to residents who want proof that the extra penny per dollar is not vanishing into a black hole of bureaucracy.
What it would mean at the register
Right now, Woodland shoppers pay a combined sales tax rate of roughly 8 percent. Tacking on another cent would bump that to about 9 percent inside city limits, according to rate tables from tax services. That would put Woodland more in line with nearby jurisdictions that already have higher local add-ons.
Staff say the proposed start date and duration are calibrated to balance project timelines with what they think voters are willing to tolerate. Earlier staff materials also walked through potential sunset provisions and how the city could consolidate the tax question with other items on the November ballot.
County move on hotel tax
While Woodland looks at shoppers, Yolo County leaders are eyeing visitors. An ad hoc subcommittee of the Board of Supervisors has been studying a hike in the transient-occupancy, or hotel, tax in unincorporated areas of the county, from 8 percent to 12 percent. County staff estimate that change could bring in about $250,000 a year for the county general fund, District 4 Supervisor Sheila Allen wrote in a newsletter. Like the city’s sales tax idea, the hotel tax boost would need voter approval if supervisors decide to send it to the November ballot, and county officials describe it as one piece of a broader review of revenue options.
If the Woodland City Council ultimately votes to place the sales tax measure on the ballot, staff would return with a detailed spending policy and implementation plan, and the city would begin the process of consolidating the measure with the November election, according to city staff materials. Residents who want to track the debate can follow the City of Woodland meetings and agendas page for upcoming dates and full staff reports. The city manager’s office remains the main staff contact as the proposal moves through each decision point.
