Berkeley Closes $30M Budget Gap, but November Tax Vote Looms as Fiscal Lifeline
City avoids deeper cuts for now but dependent on voters passing a 1/2-cent sales tax; Newark eye first change to its biz tax in 50 years; Oakland forwards reso reaffirming sanctuary city status
☕️MORNING BUZZ
Vol. VI, No. 1,304
—Berkeley officials approved a two-year budget Tuesday night that closes a daunting $30 million shortfall, but the city’s long-term financial outlook now hinges on voters approving a half-cent sales tax increase in November.
“We have hit a dead end,” an exasperated Mayor Adena Ishii said of the city’s fiscal predicament.
—The adopted budget includes the layoff of 20 city employees and the elimination of 100 vacant positions.
Councilmembers, however, voted to preserve eight positions in the Fire Department, a move likely to draw criticism from other city labor unions facing staffing reductions.
—City leaders acknowledged that passage of the proposed sales tax increase will be necessary to avoid additional cuts in the coming years.
The strategy mirrors Oakland’s unsuccessful effort to use Measure E, a parcel tax rejected by voters in the June primary, to help close chronic budget deficits.
Berkeley also faces additional uncertainty at the ballot box.
A competing regional half-cent sales tax to fund Bay Area transit is also slated for the November ballot, while a proposed statewide initiative to roll back local real estate transfer taxes could cost the city an estimated $35 million annually if it qualifies and passes.
“We are in an incredibly dire situation,” Ishii said.
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⊕MORE INSIDE
COUNTY NEWS: Labor tensions overshadow Alameda County's $6.7 billion budget adoption.
CITY NEWS: Albany says youth voting rollout stalled by registrar communication breakdown.
Newark weighs biggest overhaul of business license tax in more than 50 years.
Union City moves to renew utility tax before $7 million fiscal cliff arrives in two years.
Houston, Wang clash over reaffirming Oakland’s sanctuary law, but ultimately find common ground.
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