EDITORIAL
HEMET — Hemet’s adopted 2026-27 budget is not a secret. Combined General Fund and Measure U spending is $96,123,000. Combined revenue is $86,535,000. The city plans to spend $9,588,000 more than it takes in.
The city’s own explanation is in the same book. Revenues have begun to flatten. Costs keep rising. The document cites inflation, personnel costs, insurance, and contracts. Liability premiums are about $7.0 million, plus a $2.0 million self-insured retention. Measure U is budgeted at $16,985,000 in and $21,406,000 out, including $1.5 million for retiring police payouts and $1.5 million toward the insurance premium.
The city also lists cost-containment: a hiring freeze on vacant posts, new hires limited to mission-critical and revenue-generating jobs, a 10 percent cut in department maintenance and operations, and 17 frozen positions, including six police officers and a deputy fire chief. Reserves are reported at about $28.9 million as of June 30, 2025, against a 40 percent policy.
That is the city’s case, at its strongest. It is not enough to justify another tax.
Measure Q would add 1 cent on each dollar of taxable purchases. The city estimates about $16 million a year. It is a general tax. Proceeds go to the General Fund for any lawful city purpose. The ordinance does not require a spending cut, a headcount cap, or an efficiency audit as a condition of collecting the money. Groceries and medicine are exempt. Oversight language is in the city’s materials. None of that changes the structure: more tax revenue, same open-ended spending.
Public-employee costs and insurance keep climbing. The pattern on offer is higher taxes and thinner services. Frozen officers and a new sales tax in the same year is not a reform. It is a request for residents to pay more while the city spends more than it collects.
The solution is not to raise taxes. The solution is to cut government spending. It is never enough for the public-service payroll. Voters should not be told the only choices are a higher tax rate or fewer services. Efficiency is the third choice, and it is not on the November ballot.
