New Sales Tax Of 8.25 Percent If Passed By Voters Would Raise $30 Million

Modified at 7:00 PM on Aug 5, 2025

CALIRED NEWS–The Redding City Council decided on a 4-1 vote (Agenda 9:12a2) this evening (Aug. 5) to place a 1 percent sales tax increase (to 8.25 percent) on the Nov. 4 general election ballot which if passed by voters would raise an estimated additional $30 million. The lone dissenting vote was made by Council Member Tenessa Audette who wanted to delay the vote from a special election this fall at a cost between $300,00–$500,000 to Nov. 3, 2026 (next year’s general election). 

Approval requires a simple majority of the qualified electors casting votes. The new ordinance shall take effect immediately after approval and continue indefinitely or until ended by Redding voters.

The extra money would focus on public safety and infrastructure and would provide additional funding (Agenda Packet Exhibit A) for:

• Roads: 30 percent for roads and transportation facilities maintenance, repairs, and improvements;
• Redding Fire Department: 13 percent on construction and staffing of Fire Station 9, the purchase of equipment with 3.5 percent toward fire mitigation efforts;
• Redding Police Department: 12 percent for additional staffing, equipment, and facilities;
• Shasta County Sheriff’s Office: 12 percent for custody operation and jail capacity of the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office (which with lack of agreement could be added to the Redding Police Department after two years);
• Northern Riverfront Public Facilities: 9 percent for construction, improvement, and maintenance of public facilities on the Northern Riverfront, including 6 percent for the Redding Civic Auditorium and 3 percent for the Rodeo Grounds;
• Parks: 9 percent to be spent on the construction, improvement, and maintenance of City parks (2.75 percent to Redding Sports Park; 1.75 percent to California Soccer Park; 1.75 percent to South City Park; 1.5 percent to Panorama Park; and 1.25 percent of proceeds to Coldwell Park, Lake Redding Park and the Redding Aquatic Center);
• Redding Regional Airport: 5 percent of proceeds; allocation to support the building and staffing of additional terminal and general operations of all airport facilities;
• Unallocated: 10 percent as the Redding City Council determines via its annual budget and periodic budget amendments considering recommendations from the Citizens Advisory Committee and from public comment at City Council meetings.

Language on the measure to be voted on for the special municipal election to be held in the City of Redding on Nov. 4, 2025 reads as follows (Exhibit B):

“Shall the measure adopting a one percent transactions and use tax in the city of Redding, for the special purpose of funding essential local services, including Public Safety, Infrastructure, and Parks, ensuring that the City of Redding has the necessary resources to maintain and enhance these critical community assets, be adopted?

Yes

No

The special tax measure required 10 percent of the city’s 58,164 registered voters to sign a petition. Redding City Clerk/Election Official Sharlene Tipton certified on July 24th that the petition had an excess of the required 5,816 signatures needed to qualify for placing on the ballot.

The initial petition was submitted to the Shasta County Clerk and Registrar of Voters (ROV) Clinton Curtis on June 25 and the ROV conducted a signature verification (Exhibit A: Signature Verification Certificate) by means of a full count at the request of the City of Redding on June 30. A total of 9,672 signatures were received and 6,496 were valid (67.2 percent of all the signatures).

Some 3,176 signatures or 32.8 percent of the signatures were invalid with the largest percentage of signatures disqualified for the following reasons: 1,234 (12.8 percent were out of District or county); 715 (7.4 percent were not registered); 597 (6.2 percent were registered at a different address); and 271 (2.8 percent were duplicate signatures). The last date for action on the signatures is Aug. 8th (88 days prior to the date set for the statewide election). 

The group proposing the sales tax increase has a website: https://better-redding.com/ and call themselves Citizens for a Better Redding (CBR) with organizers that include: Zach Bay, Kenny Breedlove, Baron Browning, July Dyar, Jennifer Johnston, Dennis Morgan, Michelle Nystrom, Christina Prosperi, and Lane Rickard. 

Redding City Council Agenda: 3 Pages / Agenda Packet: 53 pages (See 30-53)

Watch Redding City Council Meeting: 14:39

The five Redding City Council members are:

• Mayor Jack Munns (elected November, 2022 for a four-year term). Email: [email protected]
• Vice Mayor Mike Littau (elected November, 2024 for a four-year term). Email: [email protected]
• Mayor Pro-Tempore Erin Resner (first elected November, 2018; re-elected in 2024 to a partial two-year term). Email: [email protected]
• Council Member Tenessa Audette (elected November, 2022 for a four-year term). Email: [email protected]
• Council Member Dr. Paul Dhanuka (elected November, 2024 for a four-year term). Email: [email protected]

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CaliRed News is a column posted on Making California Red by the 2026 elections through reaching Gen Z (ages 13-28), Hispanics, and Christians with biblical traditional values and their pastors. CaiRed News reports on political, business, community, nonprofit, and church news.

Mike Hernandez is co-founder of the Citizens Journal–Ventura County’s online news service and writes for Citizens Journal and Mountain Top Media. He is a former Southern California daily newspaper journalist and religion and news editor, writer of “CaliRed News” and “Prayer Over News Daily” and edits the weekly “Stories Speak Volumes” and other columns. Mr. Hernandez mentors citizen journalists/podcasters and can be contacted here.

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