Pittsburg may ask voters to raise the city’s sales tax by half of a percentage point, to 9.75 percent, to address a backlog in street maintenance, City Manager Garrett Evans said.
Evans said on Friday Pittsburg is considering putting the increase on the November ballot to erase $84 million in deferred maintenance on its approximately 345 miles of roadway, many of which include or are planned to include bike lanes.
The move comes two weeks after another Bay Area city, Manteca, announced it may ask to raise its sales tax rate by a full percentage point, to 9.25 percent, to improve police and fire services and street repairs.
Pittsburg’s sales tax increase, which would generate between $5.5 million and $6.5 million a year, would require support by at least two-thirds of the votes cast, Evans said in a press release.
Without an increase in the sales tax, he said, the city could be forced to cut back or eliminate services and programs.
Most groceries and prescription drugs are exempt from sales tax, so those costs would not be affected, he said.