At their meeting today (August 9th), Nevada County Supervisors are expected to decide whether to place a fire safety sales tax measure on the November ballot. The placement deadline is Friday. It would be a half-cent increase and generate around 12-million dollars a year. County officials say the benefits include even more vegetation removal, also improving evacuation routes, enhanced emergency communications, and better enforcement of illegal campfires. Four of five Board members would need to approve it for the ballot. And Supervisor Heidi Hall is already indicating support. She says 92-percent of the county is considered at high risk for wildfires…

click to listen to Heidi Hall

But concerns about the measure have already come up, including from the Grass Valley City Council. At their last meeting, some members stated that they hadn’t had any input and had just recently heard about it. But Hall says there’s been extensive outreach…

click to listen to Heidi Hall

Officials also say a survey with around one-thousand respondents showed strong support. But others wonder about the timing of a sales tax increase, in light of inflation and recession fears. The Board is scheduled to take public comment, starting at 1:30 this afternoon.