The city of Clovis is faced with a problem.

The proposed solution: a 1% increase in sales tax to address deficiencies in public safety and municipal services.

“Our community is facing new and growing challenges from crime and homelessness from neighboring communities, increasing potholes on local streets and roads, and rising costs to provide basic services,” City Manager John Holt said in a statement Monday after the City Council voted unanimously to put the tax on the November ballot.

“This action will help maintain our Clovis way of life.”

If approved, the increase would generate $28 million annually starting in April.

The money is needed.

Clovis is anticipating a revenue shortfall. A five-year forecast presented to the council in March projected a deficit of $14.4 million. Sales tax revenue was $3 million below the June 30 budget forecast.

At the same time, city services cannot keep pace with population growth (127,511 inhabitants according to one website) or with the growth of the total area (large construction projects are springing up like mushrooms).

The police department has seen an 8% increase in personnel since 2006, Holt said in a presentation to the council on Monday. Several programs within the department have been eliminated or reduced over the years, including the FBI task force.

There are currently three traffic police officers for the city.

The fire department now has fewer sworn officers than in 2006, which makes it more difficult for firefighters to do their jobs.

“Our department is struggling to meet the response time standards we have set for ourselves,” said Trent McGill, president of the Clovis Firefighters Association, during Monday’s council meeting.

The current standard should be six minutes and thirty seconds, but can be up to eleven minutes.

Needs across departments

While public safety accounts for 87 percent of the general budget’s discretionary funds and is the primary focus of the tax, there is a need in all departments of the city’s general budget, Holt said.

For example, the Senior Services Department saw a 50% increase in visitor numbers to its senior center.

“I have the same number of staff supporting them,” Holt said.

“So the math doesn’t quite add up.”

This city in Fresno County is one of the most livable cities in the USA, according to a study. Find out why

What is Clovis’s sales tax rank?

A 1% increase would bring Clovis’s sales tax to 8.975%, moving it from one of the lowest rates in Fresno County to one of the highest.

Coalinga, Fowler, Huron, Kerman, Kingsburg and Parlier all have a sales tax rate of 8.975%.

Medota and Reedley have interest rates of 9.225%.

Fresno’s is 8.350%.

In San Francisco it is 8.625%.

Cities in Alameda County have the highest average sales tax rates in the state, with several cities having a tax rate as high as 10.75%.