The City of La Palma provides an excellent quality of life for our residents. We take pride in being a vibrant City with low crime rates, safe neighborhoods, good schools, and a strong sense of community.
Keeping our City clean, safe, and well-maintained is our top priority. While the City has been able to remain fiscally stable during the COVID-19 pandemic, costs for community services continue to increase while City revenue resources have remained flat.
Additionally, local streets, sidewalks, and community facilities require ongoing maintenance that is beyond current available resources. If we do not address these issues now, it will be more expensive to repair and maintain them in the future.
Potential Local Hotel Tax Measure
Currently, tourists arrive each day to La Palma to access the attractions Southern California has to offer, including theme parks, beaches, and parks. These tourists increase traffic and demand for City services and resources, including parks, community facilities, sidewalks, and our local police.
The La Palma City Council is exploring the best way to preserve the City’s public safety, city services, and local infrastructure, including placing a transient occupancy tax or hotel tax measure on the November 2022 ballot. The proposed 4% increase in the current tax would only be paid for by overnight hotel guests visiting La Palma. The City’s current hotel tax is one of the lowest in the region. A local measure could provide an additional $200,000 annually to support community concerns, including but not limited to:
- Provide updated equipment to our local police officers;
- Maintain City streets and sidewalks;
- Support City parks and programs for youth, seniors, and families – such as movies and concerts in the park; and,
- Provide general support to all City functions.
Fiscal Accountability Required
A potential local hotel tax measure would require fiscal accountability protections, including:
- Legally, all funds may only be used to support City services in La Palma and can’t be taken by the State; and
- All funds are subject to annual general financial audits.
We Want to Hear from You
We invite you to complete our survey to further help us learn more about the community’s priorities as we explore a potential hotel tax measure. Take our survey
For More Information
Contact Ryan Hallett Hinton, Assistant to the City Manager, at (714) 690-3300 or email ryanh@cityoflapalma.org
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