Novato City Hall has a long history of running low on the financial fuel it needs to sustain its public services, programs and projects.

The opening of the Vintage Oaks shopping center and voters’ approval of a 2010 sales tax measure provided budgetary boosts, but they haven’t kept pace with costs.

Over the last six years, its fiscal health has been particularly dicey, to the level that a Marin County Civil Grand Jury called on the city to ask voters to increase the local sales tax by 0.75%, raising it from 8.5% to 9.25%.

In November, voters endorsed the increase and the City Council is looking at a proposed budget that will break even, bringing an end to several years of deficit spending.

Without the increase, the city would be looking at a budget that’s $3.7 million in the red.

Mayor Tim O’Connor, who campaigned for the tax measure, said that the measure ensures the city is on “a path toward long-term financial stability.”

That was the goal Novato voters supported when they approved Measure M, raising the local sales tax to the levy on par with most of Marin’s cities.

Now, city leaders have promises to keep, using that income infusion — $10 million per year — to repair and maintain city streets, parks and storm drains, support police and emergency services, attract and retain small businesses and bolster wildfire safety.

The city also needs to rebuild its reserves and emergency funds.

Those were priorities listed by the community.

Measure M is not a windfall. It is a long-term investment in the fiscal solvency of the city.

Measure M’s funding also gives the city the opportunity to come up with a long-term plan for the financial resilience of city services and public assets.

There will be unexpected financial challenges. The council needs a strong finance staff to keep it on track.

Years of turn over in that division and the loss of institutional knowledge have had costly results.

Effective and public checks and balances need to be maintained in order to help make sure Measure M is meeting the city’s promised goals.

Just as important, it requires decision makers to be cognizant of those promises.

Novato voters passed Measure M without a “sunset” clause or expiration date because they wanted a long-term solution to the city’s history of hand wringing over its budget and constantly diving into reserves.

Measure M was passed with a 57.9% majority. That’s far short of previous city sales-tax measures that were passed with large majorities that topped 70%.

Decision-makers in Novato need to prove doubters wrong and hopefully build trust among the large number of the voters who opposed the tax increase by making sure that Measure M lives up to its promises.