By Jason KUROSU

Though petitioners sought to gain enough signatures to repeal the Glendale Utility Users Tax, the Los Angeles County Registrar/County Clerk announced Monday that no such ballot measure would appear on the April 2015 ballot.

The California Tax Limitation Committee circulated a petition to vote on the potential repeal of the users’ tax and accumulated 2,523 signatures towards the cause. But only 1,994 signatures were considered sufficient by the Los Angeles County-Registrar/County Clerk and the petition fell short of the 2,192 signature requirement. Signatures were deemed insufficient for a number of reasons, including because they were duplicates or from people living outside of Glendale.

The Glendale Utility Users Tax comprises $27.6 of the city’s $170 million operating budget.

According to a press release from Glendale Community Outreach Assistant Tamar Hadjimanoukian, “The lack of UUT funds would have immediately placed many of Glendale’s services at risk. Library systems, parks and community centers, all recreation and community services programming and much of the Community Development Department would have been in jeopardy.”

The Glendale Coalition for Better Government also took issue with the city’s usage of utility taxes when they sued the city of Glendale in February, claiming that Glendale was illegally transferring money received from utility taxes, specifically the electric works and waterworks revenue funds. The lawsuit called for the city to “return all monies transferred to the general budget fund in violation of the Charter to the electric works revenue fund and waterworks revenue fund, respectively.”

Coalition member Ronald Kedikian said that the focus of the coalition, other than the lawsuit, was to inform the public about the upcoming election, getting people involved and familiar with the candidates.

  Jason Kurosu