These 9 residents could oversee new sales tax spending in Modesto. One was police chief

John Holland
·2 min read

The Modesto City Council is expected to appoint nine residents to monitor spending from the new 1% sales tax.

A former police chief and other prominent residents were nominated for the panel, which could be ratified Tuesday evening.

Voters enacted the tax increase via Measure H in November. It is expected to add about $42 million to city coffers each year.

The measure required appointment of a Measure H Oversight Board to review how the council spends the new income. It will meet at least twice a year and produce an annual public report.

The board members must be registered voters in Modesto but cannot work for the city. The council’s appointments committee reviewed the applicants. Six of the board seats represent the six council districts. The other three are at-large.

The nominees are:

District 1: Alexandra von Stade, lab technician at Merced College and leader with the Modesto Area Disc Golf Club

District 2: Galen Carroll, police chief from 2013 to 2020, now deputy director of security at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

District 3: Kirstie Boyett, executive director of American Leadership Forum, Great Valley Chapter, and former State Theatre leader

District 4: Chris Guptill, teacher at Davis High School and leader of cleanups along the Tuolumne River and Dry Creek

District 5: Realtor Mike Kelly, whose service included a year as president of the Central Valley Association of Realtors

District 6: Jesse Franco, former engineering division manager for the city

At-large: Attorney Aaron Anguiano, president of the Latino Community Roundtable of Stanislaus County

At-large: Tom Hallinan, attorney for a few nearby cities and former board member for the Yosemite Community College District

At-large: Michael Moradian, active with the La Loma Neighborhood, Modesto Chamber of Commerce and other groups.

The council already has earmarked Measure H money for the fiscal year that will start July 1. The key areas are help for homeless people, enhanced police and fire services, road and sidewalk repairs and park maintenance.

The council will meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 27, in the basement chamber at 1010 10th St. Instructions for taking part virtually are at www.modestogov.com/659/City-Council.