ANAHEIM, Calif. — Long-time resident Vern Nelson sang “let us vote” to the tune of Disney’s “Let It Go.”

Resident Wes Jones said that money from a 2% entertainment and sports gate tax on tickets to Anaheim’s major venues, including Disneyland, would be money that benefits the residents of Anaheim.

Meanwhile, Charlotte Seidnematollah said the tax money could hire more police officers, help pay off the city’s bond debt, or even create more affordable housing.

Yet, despite the public’s pleas, most of the six current members of the Anaheim City Council Tuesday night declined to create a ballot measure allowing voters to decide whether to impose a 2% gate tax on Disneyland, Honda Center and Angel Stadium. 

“We are experiencing the highest inflation rate in the last 40 years. Living costs are already at an all-time high,” said council member Avelino Valencia during last night’s meeting. “Although members of the public here today may not be impacted… there are individuals in Anaheim that would.”

Council member Jose Moreno put the controversial gate tax issue in front of the City Council Tuesday. 

The city has never charged a gate tax despite having major tourist attractions such as Disneyland, Disney California Adventure, Honda Center and Angel Stadium.  

Moreno wanted to create a ballot measure in the November election for voters to ultimately decide on adding a 2% gate tax for tickets to privately owned or managed entertainment and sporting venues that have more than 15,000 in capacity, such as Disneyland, Honda Center, and Angel Stadium. 

The 2% gate tax would have been imposed on Honda Center visitors. (Spectrum News/Joseph Pimentel)

However, the proposed ordinance left out the city’s convention center since it’s a publicly owned building. And under their 1996 lease agreement with the Angels, the city would have to reimburse any tax the city levies onto the Angels. 

Moreno needed a council supermajority to pass the proposal, meaning at least five of his council colleagues would need to approve his motion before creating a ballot measure letting voters decide. The council’s seventh seat was vacated by former Mayor Harry Sidhu, who resigned amid an FBI corruption investigation.

City staff said the tax could generate an estimated $55 million to $82 million a year, which would go to the city’s coffers and pay for street improvement, community services, code enforcement, police, fire and maybe the building of a new pool.  

Throughout the night, Moreno, who advocated for the gate tax, argued tourists and not locals would mostly pay for the tax. He said Disneyland, the city’s largest tourist attraction, already raises ticket prices yearly, so why shouldn’t the city reap some benefits?

He said Anaheim has more than $1.5 billion in unfunded liabilities and had to borrow money to balance its budget last year amid the coronavirus pandemic downturn that hurt the city’s tourism business. 

And city staffing levels remain stagnant, he said, an issue that has not fully recovered since the Great Recession of 2008.

“I’m not asking you to vote for a tax this evening,” said Moreno to his colleagues. “I’m asking you to let the people of Anaheim be part of this process and vote for a tax if they believe it’s necessary or not.”

However, many of his colleagues pointed out that the tax could hurt nonprofits that often use venues such as the Honda Center or Disneyland to raise money.

Mayor Pro Tem Trevor O’Neill said the tax could impact the number of tourists the city attracts.

The city is still reeling from the pandemic’s effects that have hurt their tourism sector. The city brought in over 25 million visitors pre-coronavirus pandemic. 

O’Neill said many of these visitors stay in Anaheim hotels, paying an additional 15% bed tax and 2% tourism fee on top of their hotel rate. 

“Increasing the already high tax burden on visitors runs the real risk of negatively impacting tourism and [could result in] economic impacts for our city,” O’Neill said.

Council Member Jose Diaz said that people in California are already overtaxed. 

“From gas taxes to income taxes, you name it,” said Diaz. “We put another tax into many [more] taxes. California has the second highest taxes in the nation.”

Moreno pleaded with council members to continue the matter in an August meeting to make the necessary changes to address some of his colleagues’ concerns about indirectly hurting nonprofits or exempting Anaheim residents from the tax but to no avail. 

None of the other five council members seconded Moreno’s motions to continue the issue.