The latest vote tally from Gilroy show a sales tax increase meant to pay for public safety falling five points shy of the two-thirds threshold required for the measure’s approval.

The near-certain failure of Measure C signals a win for those business interests and residents who worried about the increased costs of the tax. However, the city will now have to look elsewhere to fund its struggling and understaffed public safety network.“It’s really unfortunate. We’re heartbroken that Measure C didn’t pass,” said Steven Hayes, president of the Gilroy Firefighters Association. “It’s going to have a negative impact on our public and on the safety of our firefighters.”

With police and fire staffing stagnating, increased demand for emergency services, and outdated fire stations, the Gilroy City Council turned to the quarter-cent tax Measure C to shore up public safety in the city. The measure was meant to raise Gilroy’s sales tax to 9.375% — with exceptions for groceries and prescription medicine — adding over $4 million in revenue for public safety.

According to the city, the number of firefighters and police has remained virtually unchanged over the past decade. Meanwhile, the city’s population has grown 15% and Gilroy firefighters respond to 77% more calls than they did in 2012.

Given the growth, the city projects it needs to hire 15 police staff, add 17 firefighters, and build at least one more fire station. Additionally, fire and police have called for updated equipment and improved facilities. One analysis concluded that two of the current fire stations are seismically unsound, meaning they could collapse on a fire engine during an earthquake and render firefighters there unable to respond to an emergency, according to former fire chief Jim Wyatt.

The need led to mostly universal — if often reluctant — support for the tax measure among city leaders, and outspoken support from fire and police departments.

Hayes says that the city is already looking to revert temporary promotions of some firefighters who were meant to oversee the a temporary fire station and tighten staffing in ways that would cause intermittent shutdowns of the station, resulting in slower response times. While Hayes attributes this to the failure of the measure, City Administrator Jimmy Forbis said that the staffing shifts are related to longer-term challenges of operating the station without using overtime. While the temporary outpost will be replaced by a permanent station soon, Forbis says it will be up to the next city council to find out how to staff it and fund the rest of the city’s public safety efforts without the aid of Measure C.

Despite the concerns, some argued the money should come from the city’s budget, and some business leaders said the increased costs would push them to make large purchases outside of the city, making the measure counterproductive by taking revenue out of Gilroy.

Some residents also expressed reluctance to support the measure, citing the already high cost of living.

“The voters have spoken,” said City Councilmember Dion Bracco, who opposed the measure. “I believe that people are getting tired of being asked to pay for everything all the time.”