RECAP: Twentynine Palms City Council, October 14, 2026
Council moves City one step closer to a ballot measure increasing sales tax by 1%
As a change from recent City Council meetings, the sole drama in Tuesday’s one-hour session was provided by the vibrant pink shirts worn by City Council members in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Public attendance was poor with just 11 audience members, six of whom appeared to be a family associated with the K-B Mart liquor store and market. They left after that item was approved as a part of the Consent Calendar, with Community Development Director Keith Gardner shaking each of their hands as they departed.
Video of the meeting can be viewed here and our agenda preview is here.
The invocation was given by Mary Kay Sherry1 of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who also received a certificate on behalf of cancer survivors for Breast Cancer Awareness month. Mayor Steven Bilderain announced the usual “no report” on the Closed Session listed on the agenda.
Meetings attended include the Cal Cities conference and the Pelican Club
Council Members reported on attending the October 8 roundtable on housing and homelessness, a health resource fair, the Cal Cities conference, the Morongo Basin Transit meeting, the Navy’s 250th birthday celebration and the Pelican Club dinner, among other events.
What’s the Pelican Club, you may ask? It’s an invitation-only networking dinner held in Yucca Valley — per Assemblyman Tom Lackey, the Club was formed in 1950 “as an informal forum that facilitates face-to-face interactions between local interests and county and state government officials.” California Assembly District 34 candidate Randall Putz described the October 7 event in an Instagram post:
Last night’s Pelican Club dinner in Yucca Valley was an excellent reminder of what community is all about. Neighbors, community leaders, and elected officials came together to share a meal, listen to one another, and talk frankly about the opportunities and challenges facing our region.
No matter our differences, rolling up our sleeves and working side by side to support our communities is where real leadership begins.
I had the chance to serve food alongside Assemblymember Tom Lackey, SBCo Fire Chief Dan Munsey, 29 Palms City Manager Stone James, and other dedicated volunteers. It was a powerful example of how service can bring people together.
I am grateful for spaces like these that remind us that change starts by showing up, connecting, and building trust one conversation at a time.
In addition to Mayor Bilderain, other Twentynine Palms attendees included Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) Board Member Ashton Ramsey, Councilmember McArthur Wright, Copper Mountain College Trustee Anna Stump, and Music Series Committee Member Jordan Ash among others.
Consent Calendar approved without discussion or public comment
The six-item Consent Calendar was approved without discussion or public comment —see our agenda preview for details. Twentynine Palms Water District General Manager Matt Shragge was in attendance and expressed satisfaction that the much-needed five-year United States Geological Survey (USGS) study of “the geohydrologic and geochemical conditions in aquifers near the City of Twentynine Palms” was finally funded and passed.
City Manager Stone James makes the case for a sales tax increase and for consultants to sell it to residents
Using a slide deck that was not included in the agenda packet, City Manager Stone James did a quick review of why cities incorporate — primarily for local control — then proceeded to outline Twentynine Palms’ budget realities. We’ve recreated the slide deck for download below.
James’ presentation was focused solely on selling the concept of a sales tax, as though that were a fait accompli, even though Council has not had an in-depth public discussion of budget shortfalls, other modes of raising revenue or whether there are expenses that could be reduced, outside of a brief discussion when budgets were presented in May 2025. We also do not recall a final Council vote on the strategic priorities listed in the City Manager’s presentation.
When Finance Director Abigail Hernandez-Conde discussed the preliminary general budget in May, she projected a $213,000 budget surplus for the the fiscal year ending June 20, 2025, and a $77,000 surplus for FY26-27. City Manager James reiterated her concern about declining revenues and increasing expenses, indicating that like Twentynine Palms, “a number of cities throughout this region, in the Coachella Valley, in Blythe, are also experiencing a similar decline in revenues.” But, in fact, this is a nationwide trend.2
James used the metaphors of financial offense and defense to explain the City’s position:
Thankfully, this City Council has directed staff consistently to have strong financial defense. And what do I mean by that? Strong financial defense is looking for ways to decrease costs. How can we do things more efficiently, and how can we do things in a more cost effective manner? A Public Works department is an excellent example of that. They have a five-person road crew, and if you would include the supervisory staff. They are responsible for maintaining 170 miles. Their ingenuity and their creativity at such a low cost is fantastic….
James’ financial “offense” argument was less clear — he referred to a chart comparing Animal Control, Community Services and Community Development revenues and expenditures and pointed out that “the cost to provide those vital services, is not recovered by the fees that are charged,” a situation common in “virtually every city.” Referring to the animal shelter and to Parks and Rec as examples, James said:
We cannot charge what it actually cost to do that, to provide those services, so those costs are absorbed by the general fund. So the financial reality of our City, and really any city within the state of California, is that [the cost of the services] has driven our strategic planning goals.
He argued that the solution is for the City to raise its sales tax to generate more general fund revenue and offset those costs. Yet the total deficit on the chart is $2,476,736 per year. The 2023 Probolsky Research survey argued that a 1% sales tax could raise $1.5 million per year, enough to partially underwrite those services, but far short of what’s needed to cover the cost.
Not discussed were other forms of revenue generation, such as an increase in TOT tax or state and federal grants, the availability of which has declined with the current federal administration. Nor did the City Manager address the degree that outside forces such as climate change and attendant weather conditions and flooding might be impacting City budgets.
James then compared the current 7.75% sales tax rate in Twentynine Palms to other cities regionally, which average 8.84 percent — we discussed some of these rates in our agenda preview. He also reinforced the strategic planning goal of diversifying revenue sources.
Having laid out the argument for the sales tax increase, James then turned to the necessity of assessing community opinion to determine which services residents deem important and whether there were new services desired. He also discussed the need for community engagement on the sales tax as the means to support those services.
The proposal before Council was for $122,250, broken down as follows: $22,500 to Probolsky Research to conduct another “survey” on the viability of measure to increase sales tax, $74,750 to Lew Edwards Group to sell it to residents and an additional “communications budget” of $25,000 for “graphic design, printing, bulk postage, digital advertising, or USPS processing fees.”
Opening discussion, Councilmember Octavious Scott wondered whether another survey on sales tax was necessary, the last one having been conducted by the very same firm in 2023:
Dr James, I think the community understands the financial burden that we have as a city, and I think we understand what the needs of our community are. We’ve done surveys before, as you pointed out, and we’ve done strategic planning meetings and things like that. I’m just a little hesitant to pay for another survey, to be honest, but I certainly think that, reaching out to a consulting firm to help us navigate a ballot measure, I think, is appropriate for informational purposes.
Scott added that he felt that any sales tax increase should be directed toward specific needs such as infrastructure, capital projects and disaster relief.
The 1% sales tax increase passed by Yucca Valley consists of 0.5% which reduces the cost of sewer assessments and 0.5% for public safety, infrastructure and quality of life programs, for instance.
Councilmember Mintz pointed out that many Twentynine Palms residents are already paying 8.75% sales tax when they shop [in Yucca Valley]:
I mean, folks in 29 Palms are already paying 8.75% sales tax right now. So when they go to Yucca Valley, and we’re talking about basically $1 on 100 and we’re talking about a penny on $1…
No mention was made of funding a “buy local” campaign or that sales tax is also collected from retail businesses on the Marine Base, and those patrons are likely not doing all of their shopping in Yucca.
Councilmember April Ramirez disagreed with the staff recommendation that Lew Edwards Group was the best choice for Twentynine Palms, having conferred with other cities, presumably at the Cal Cities conference in Palm Springs:
I’d like to add I did spend some time talking to multiple members of the council for Palm Desert as well as Cathedral City And while the Lew group is extremely reputable at what they do, I just feel that at this time, maybe that’s not the best route for us, given the size of our city in comparison to the other sizes of the other cities, and I feel like Clifford Moss3 would be good.
Councilmember Wright suggested that the funding of the political consulting firm should be contingent on the outcome of the survey — if residents appear to be opposed to the sales tax, then Council might not proceed with the measure.
His motion carried 5-0.
City Manager and Community Development Director Reports
In a surprise presentation, Community Development Director Keith Gardner touted that permits had been pulled for 39 dwelling units, an increase over previous years. Additionally, City Manager James working with Community Development Director Gardner have initiated a plan for easing the burden of adding an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) to an existing residential property by making available a list of standard, pre-approved ADU building plans. According to City Manager James, these standard ADU plans would lessen the expense and time hurdles for homeowners wishing to add additional housing to their property.
While standard pre-approved ADU plans are now common in Los Angeles and San Diego, Twentynine Palms would be the first city in San Bernardino County to offer this service.
The next City Council meeting is Tuesday, October 28, at 6:00 pm.
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Corrected misspelling after publication.
Short, John Rennie, A fiscal crisis is looming for many US cities, The Conversation, February 20, 2025
Oakland-based Clifford Moss is an election planning, political strategy, public affairs and strategic communications firm.
the city manager tells us how costs are rising for the city. the city needs more money thus increase taxes, the sales tax.
UNfortunately the same costs are rising for the residents of 29 palms, and there is no income booster such as the city has. the residents must pare spending to stay solvent. the city should do the same thing, rather than pass the risng costs on to residents and tax payers.
the previous survey was recent enough to gauge the sentiment of the 29 palms residents.
the opinions of the city manager seem to influence the council into always requiring more revenue although the city always carries a surplus.