Taxpayers literally want to see results.

It’s why Mayor Gary Singh has repeatedly emphasized the need to make sure Measure Q sales tax financed endeavors involve tangible items that people can see rather than expenditures — even if they are critical for delivery of municipal services — aren’t obvious to the public.

That would mean road improvements, new fire stations, a new police station, and such as opposed to an upgraded fire department communication system which is already funded and in the process of being implemented.

It was one of the general guidelines elected officials indicated Tuesday at a special meeting at the transit  center with the Measure Q citizens oversight committee they want followed when devolving a spending plan for the 20-year tax.

The three-quarter cent sales tax goes into effect April 1.

It will take the overall sales tax in Manteca up to 9 cents.

The city will receive 2.25 cents of that: The one cent general sales tax, the half cent Measure sales tax for frontline public safety personnel, and the three-quarter cent Measure Q sales tax.

“There needs to be Measure Q stickers on fire engines and police cars we buy with the sales tax and signs in front of projects made possible such as the new police and fire stations,” Singh said after the meeting.

The first candidate for the distinctive Measure Q logo would be a new $1 million plus fire engine scheduled to arrive in Manteca on March 26, just six days before the new sales tax goes into effect on April 1.

It will replace an aging frontline engine that has become increasingly unreliable.

Normally, fire engines can take more that two years to be completed once an order is placed.

Manteca elected leaders in December were able to take advantage of a new engine that was already built and available for sale knowing they would have additional revenue flowing in during 2025 to pay the $1 million plus tab.

And in February, the City Council voted to send $510,000 for five new patrol vehicles on the strength of the pending inflow of Measure Q funds.

The arrival of five new patrol units will greatly reduce the chance patrol officers would have to double up when marked units fail to start at the beginning of their shifts.

At times there have been no other available units due to them being in  the shop meaning two officers end up riding together for a shift.

That, in turn, reduces the effectiveness of patrol coverage with a shift going without one patrol unit.

It can take up to six months to secure and equip patrol vehicles.

Both the fire engine and police vehicles will be paid for initially by borrowing from city reserves.

The $1.5 million plus for the police and fire vehicles would be restored to the reserve accounts when  the first Measure Q receipts are received.

As such, Singh would like to see Measure Q stickers on the new patrol vehicles as well.

The city’s fire engines, because they haven’t been replaced in a timely manner due to financial constraints, sometimes will not start forcing crews to scramble to the backup engine.

Last year, the backup engine at the Louise Avenue station also failed to start as well forcing the dispatch of an engine company from a different station.

A Manteca fire truck has also broken down while in route to a medical emergency at El Rancho Mobile Home Park.

The city because of funding shortfalls has been forced to wait to replace vehicles until they got to the point they absolutely had to be replaced. 

And when they did so, it often meant planned replacement of even older equipment elsewhere in the city such as what is used by street maintenance couldn’t be done and ended up being delayed even more.

There have been situations where street repair equipment before it was replaced with federal COVID relief pass through funds, was in the shop or inoperable awaiting replacement parts, more days than it was able to be used.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com