Los Gatos council pushes sales tax hike discussion to mid-May

Tax hike on table

Los Gatos voters will need to wait to see whether a potential one-eighth cent sales tax hike could end up on the ballot this November.

The Los Gatos Town Council was set to discuss the findings of a recent poll to assess what the outcome of such a ballot measure would look like at its May 7 meeting, but voted to table the discussion until May 21 to give members of the public time to look at the findings.

The town selected NBS government finance group to conduct polling on the matter at a Feb. 20 council meeting. The organization presented the findings of their poll on May 7, but did not provide them to the council and the public in advance of the meeting since they felt it made more sense in the context of their presentation, assistant town manager Katy Nomura said.

In unanimously voting to continue the item to their next meeting, councilmembers referred the issue to the finance commission for consideration before May 21.

“I think the public deserves to see the basis for the decision that the council is making,” Vice Mayor Matthew Hudes said.

If council members vote in favor of moving to the next step in the process, NBS will draft a resolution for the town to put the measure on the ballot and prepare public outreach and education, according to a staff report.

Author talk on agriculture

The Los Gatos-based nonprofit Plant-based Advocates is hosting the latest in its speaker series promoting discussion on the vegan and vegetarian lifestyle.

Author Will Tuttle, known for his book “The World Peace Diet,” will be at the Los Gatos Library on May 20 5-6 p.m., to lead a discussion on the hidden consequences of animal agriculture.

The event will take place in the library’s tech lab. For more information, visit plantbasedadvocates.org.