South Bay residents prepare for April 1 sales tax increases

CAMPBELL, Calif. (KGO) -- Several Bay Area cities will see a sales tax hike Saturday. Voters in San Jose, Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Newark and East Palo Alto agreed to sales tax increases last year and they go into effect midnight Friday.

RELATED: Bay Area tax increases take effect April 1st, no joke

There will also be countywide hikes in Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties.

Campbell and San Jose are on the list because they fall under the Santa Clara County sales tax increase, intended to fund transportation. Newark has different plans for its revenue. The taxpayer's association says none of it will help cities and counties in the long run.

The sales tax increases were approved by voters in November.

"Yes, okay, and I was not one of those voters, but it passed," said Newark resident Brenda Bailey.

Bailey says she's retiring in about a year and leaving California because it's too expensive -- and getting more expensive every day.

"It was the straw that broke the camel's back," Bailey told ABC7 News. "So I'm like, ok, now I'm convinced. You know, I'm convinced."

RELATED: Gov Brown proposes raising gas tax to pay for road repairs

Susie Woodstock is the administrative services director in Newark. She says the projected $3.5 million a year in new sales tax revenue will pay for a new city hall, police station, and library.

"The police department alone, it's just way too small for them to do any real community policing," said Woodstock. "The library is very well used, it's very little, and it's small. It just can't accommodate a lot."

Newark's half-percent hike brings the sales tax there to 9.75 percent. In Campbell, the rate goes from 8.75 to 9.25.

Santa Clara County's increase is also a half-point, bringing the sales tax to 9 percent.

The president of the Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association says the higher taxes are bad for business and don't make sense. "The politicians come to voters and say, 'Ok, we want to increase transportation or help homeless or help repair potholes,'" said Mark Hinkle. "Our problem is, if that is a priority for politicians, how come it's not in the current budget."

RELATED: Gas tax hike funds $52 billion plan to fix California roads

Across California, voters in 66 cities and counties approved sales tax increases, some as high as a full percentage point.