Oxnard’s Measure O Ballot Proposal Would Remove 2029 Sunset Without Raising Tax Rate

Oxnard voters will decide Nov. 3, 2026, whether to remove the March 31, 2029, sunset provision from the city’s existing half-cent Measure O sales tax.

The Oxnard City Council placed the City of Oxnard Public Safety, Financial Stability Measure (No Tax Rate Increase) on the ballot June 16, 2026. If approved by a simple majority of votes cast, the proposal would allow the current tax to continue until voters end it, without increasing the existing local sales-tax rate.

What the ballot proposal would change

Measure O was approved by Oxnard voters in 2008. The City Attorney’s impartial analysis says the half-cent local sales tax is scheduled to terminate March 31, 2029, after its 20-year operating period.

The November proposal would repeal that sunset provision. It would not create a new sales-tax rate or raise the rate Oxnard residents currently pay. Other provisions of Measure O would remain in effect.

Official ballot language says the tax provides approximately $20 million annually for city services. The listed service areas include public safety, 911 emergency response and fire protection, street and pothole repairs, homelessness programs, services for vulnerable seniors, anti-gang and after-school programs, and other general city services.

The revenue is a general local sales tax, and official materials state that the funds are used solely within Oxnard. The measure does not guarantee a specific amount to any single department, project or program.

Oversight requirements would remain

The City Attorney’s impartial analysis says removing the sunset would not change Measure O’s existing accountability provisions. Those provisions include oversight, independent audits and public disclosure of spending.

Because Measure O is a general sales tax, the impartial analysis states that the proposal needs a simple majority of votes cast to pass. Until the election is held and certified, the continuation remains a proposal awaiting voter approval.

What happens next

The measure will appear on the consolidated Nov. 3, 2026, election ballot for voters in the City of Oxnard. The City Council’s resolution requested that Ventura County conduct the election and canvass the returns under California election procedures.

For residents and local businesses, the practical question is whether the existing half-cent Measure O tax continues beyond March 31, 2029. The proposal would preserve the current rate, not increase it, while retaining the tax’s existing oversight and disclosure requirements.

Sources

• 2026 Renewal Measure | City of Oxnard