Supporters kick off Fresno State tax effort touting $2 billion-plus economic boost

Supporters of Measure E Tuesday kicked off a campaign to add .02 cents to Fresno County’s sales tax to boost academic programs and athletic facilities at Fresno State.

On the Fresno State campus, Marc Johnson, former superintendent of Sanger Unified School District, joined other proponents who say Measure E will enable the repair of decades-old academic buildings, removal of asbestos, expand career and educational programs, provide scholarships to low-income students, and aid in other campus improvements.

Two-thirds of the money raised by the measure would go toward academic improvements, but aging Bulldog Stadium would also receive renovations. Supporters said a citizen oversight committee will ensure the funds are spend correctly.

“My love for this university has not wavered,” Johnson said. “The children of this Valley are the children of my heart.”

Fresno County Superintendent of Schools Jim Yovino, also present at the event, said:

“Our kids need an opportunity to have a college right here in the Valley, one that will allow facility space to expand.”

The Fresno State Improvement Zone Committee, led by construction company owner Richard Spencer, initially launched the effort. The tax would apply to the gross receipts of all retailers’ sales or all tangible personal property sold at retail in the county, and to the sales price of tangible personal property purchased from any retailers for the storage, use or other consumption in the county of that property. The tax would run for 20 years and generate an estimated annual average of $36 million.

Supporters cited an analysis by Joseph Penbera, a former dean of the Fresno State School of Business, that says Measure E would generate 20,000 jobs and create between $2.18 billion and $3.72 billion in positive economic impacts over its 20-year-life.

However, Measure E is likely to face competition on the November ballot from other measures that would raise area sales taxes, including Measure C, the half-cent sales tax aimed at improving Fresno County’s transportation system, and Measure V, a one-eighth cent City of Fresno sales tax that would go toward improving veterans’ facilities and services.