NEWARK — Election officials on Wednesday still were counting ballots that will determine if city residents will be paying an additional tax on their utility bills.

Measure L, the proposed utility users tax, was being defeated by a mere eight votes — 2,068 people voted against the tax, while 2,060 were in favor — after tallying through early Wednesday morning.

But voting officials said about 400 absentee and 70 provisional ballots still needed to be tabulated.

Those ballots were expected to be counted late Wednesday, but the results likely would not be released until Thursday, said Guy Ashley, spokesman for the county office of the registrar of voters.

City officials were holding out hope Wednesday that the uncounted ballots would push the vote back in favor of the tax, a proposed 3.9 percent addition to utility bills, because it would bring an estimated $2.5 million annually to the cash-strapped city.

"It's not over until the last ballot is counted," City Manager John Becker said.

City officials have estimated Newark will face a $3.5 million shortfall for the next fiscal cycle, and they have said that if the tax does not pass, more cuts will have to be made to all departments.

"If Measure L does not get passed, the result will be job cuts potentially across the board," he said.

Becker said the returns so far were "very disappointing" and likely were caused by the sour economy.

However,

Becker said the argument was misleading and inaccurate. Specifically, he said the argument stated that the city had a surplus of $35 million in 2005, while it actually had a $2.2 million deficit.

"I don't know where they got that information," he said of those who wrote the argument against the tax.

Dean Lewis, who was heading the effort opposing the measure, said Wednesday that the statement about a surplus in 2005 was based on information extrapolated from data posted on the city's Web site, combined with a statement Rep. Pete Stark, D-Fremont, made to Congress in 2006 while congratulating Newark Mayor David W. Smith.

In the speech, Stark made reference to Smith running a city with a $35 million surplus, Lewis said.

Smith, who was re-elected to his 16th term on Tuesday, said Wednesday that Stark's statement was "entirely incorrect."

"You can't trust a statement made four years ago," Smith said.

Smith said that if the measure is defeated, the public will see the impact of job cuts, which will include some in public safety.

However, the mayor remained optimistic that the measure will pass. Absentee ballots counted Tuesday showed support for the utility tax, he said.

Although early returns showed the measure was being defeated, Lewis said he was not going to celebrate.

"It could go either way," he said. "If it gets defeated, then it gets defeated. If it passes, then it passes. Either way we are going to be good winners or good losers."

Reach Ben Aguirre Jr. at 510-353-7011. Follow him Twitter.com/benaguirrejr