Berkeley voters will be asked to increase their sales tax rate to 10.75%, ranking with the highest in the Bay Area, to close a looming $30 million budget deficit.
The proposed 0.5% increase would align Berkeley with most of Alameda County, including Oakland. Statewide, sales tax rates range from 7.25% to as much as 11.25%, according to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.
The City Council on Tuesday took steps toward placing the sales tax measure on the Nov. 3 ballot along with a $300 municipal bond that would raise property taxes.
The city’s general fund is in the red with a deficit of nearly $30 million annually for fiscal years 2027 and 2028. The sales tax hike would bring in more than $9 million per year for those years, according to the city’s General Fund Budgeting Plan.
If the sales tax isn’t approved, 33 jobs now supported by one-time funds could be eliminated in fiscal 2028. They include three firefighters, three fire captains and three fire apparatus operators; 15 police officers and six dispatchers; and two assistant recreation coordinators and one sports official in the Parks, Recreation and Waterfront Department.
The second proposed ballot measure to help close Berkeley’s budget deficit is a $300 million general obligation bond.
The bond would add $22.14 per $100,000 assessed valuation to property tax bills, boosting the estimated average tax rate over time to $44.13, according to a report to the council by City Manager Paul Buddenhagen.
“Berkeley faces significant unfunded capital infrastructure needs and a growing deferred maintenance backlog,” Buddenhagen said in his report. “Many city facilities and public assets were constructed decades ago and no longer meet current standards.”
The Berkeley City Council will hold a public meeting on June 23 to adopt the 2027-2028 biennial budget, the 2027-2031 five-year capital improvement program and the addition of the sales tax hike and municipal bond measures to the November ballot.
A simple majority would be needed to pass the sales tax hike, and a two-thirds majority would be needed to pass the issuance of the general obligation bond.
