By Randy Pastor–
Citrus Heights businesses are in serious trouble right now, and in the foreseeable future.
We, small businesses, struggle daily to keep operating with conditions such as they are, as hundreds in the region have been forced to shut down temporarily or permanently since March. This has left thousands of people without a job and spiking local homelessness.
There has never been a worse time to impose an enormous local sales tax in Citrus Heights, and I am pleading you to oppose Measure M.
Pastor’s Commercial Center, which operates Pastor Auto Care Center and Pastor’s Valero, has been a family run business since 1975. Now in our third generation, we employ 22 people whose families depend upon our business –- many, due to the pandemic, live paycheck to paycheck.
Speaking for myself and my family, it is a crazy idea to impose a new one percent sales tax on Citrus Heights business and residents. Some may think one percent is nothing, but it is HUGE!
Guest Opinion: Why I’m supporting Measure M
The pandemic created a 65 percent drop in our business during those first months, and even now we are still well below what our normal business should be.
I have observed consumer behavior for decades, having operated through the economic downturns following 9/11 and the Great Recession – I see that during times of fiscal stress that cash sales go down, while EBT and credit card sales climb steadily. This is exactly what I see happening now.
And with Measure M designed to last forever and providing no guarantee that it will be spent on anything for which it is promised, this is the worst of all times to punish the residents of Citrus Heights.
Based on the Citrus Heights business owners with whom I interact and have spoken, the overwhelming majority do not want Measure M. That’s because if it passes, our sales tax will be higher than our neighboring cities. Why would a customer shop and do business with us in Citrus Heights when they could easily go to Roseville or Folsom and save money due to lower local sales tax?
Sunrise Marketplace businesses, which make up over 400 businesses along Sunrise Boulevard, did a survey recently and found that a clear majority of business owners who responded are opposed to Measure M.
From 2018: Meet Randy Pastor, of Pastor’s Auto Center in Citrus Heights
The sad truth of the matter is that even if things opened back up fully tomorrow, our businesses still have a long road ahead to get our community back to anywhere close to normalcy.
A much publicized report released this month by Yelp determined that around 60% of business closures since March are actually permanent – a staggering statistic.
Citrus Heights may have a problem with their budget that needs to be fixed. But, our local businesses expect the City of Citrus Heights to tighten their own budget and try to look inwards to find solutions, just as we are having to do.
Asking the Citrus Heights taxpayers for more tax money during this COVID-19 crisis is extremely poor timing. Please join with me and oppose Measure M.
Randy Pastor is the owner of Pastor’s Commercial Center in Citrus Heights, located at the intersection of Sunrise Boulevard and Old Auburn Road.
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