Artesia’s Measure M, which would raise business license fees in the city for the first time in 20 years, cruised to an easy victory Tuesday night with more than three-fourths of the vote.
With 85 percent of precincts reporting, the Yes side is leading with 78.25 percent while those opposed had only 21.75 percent.
Measure M qualified for the November ballot after the Artesia City Council declared a Fiscal Emergency in June due to dwindling revenues (mostly from raids on city funds from the State of California).
Speaking in support of the measure, Local 1520 President Andrew Perry said in a recent op-ed piece featured on Patch that an increase was necessary because it would update business license fees “to reflect modern needs.”
“Measure M will remove outdated business classifications and add modern ones,” he said. “The result will be a more fair and inclusive fee for all businesses.”
Funding created by the business license increase, will be used to help protect important community services, including neighborhood police patrols and rapid 9-1-1 response. It will also help maintain important street maintenance and pothole repair.
