Yuma News Now

Yuma, Arizona -  City of Yuma voters approved Proposition 100, an extension of the City's 2 percent hospitality tax for an additional 15 years, in a special election held Tuesday.

With all 18 precincts reporting and all but approximately 675 "late early" and provisional ballots counted, voters approved the tax on hotel stays, restaurant and bar purchases by a rate of 68.7 percent to 31.3 percent. Preliminary, unoffical results as of 9 p.m. Monday show 5,844 votes in favor of Prop 100 and 2,664 votes against it.

In Prop 100, the language was amended from a previous version of the tax to provide that a minimum of $2.5 million be spent on citywide Parks and Recreation, a minimum of $600,000 be allocated to the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area (within city limits) and a minimum of $400,000 be provided to promote conventions and tourism.  Any additional funds collected from this tax can only be used for those three purposes.

The final vote count will be provided later in the week. Results will become official once canvassed by the Yuma City Council, most likely at its June 3 meeting.