![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/medium-Aug.31-Local-groups-want-to-fix-up-Berkeleys-Civic-Center-Old-City-Hall-5.jpg\")
Berkeley\u2019s old city hall, which needs a seismic retrofit, is one of the projects that could be funded through a proposed $300 million infrastructure bond. Credit: Ximena Natera, Berkeleyside\/CatchLight Local<\/p>\nBerkeley\u2019s old city hall, which needs a seismic retrofit, is one of the projects that could be funded through a proposed $300 million infrastructure bond. Credit: Ximena Natera, Berkeleyside\/CatchLight Local<\/p>\n
Berkeley leaders will ask voters this November to approve a sales tax increase to bridge a budget deficit without deeper service cuts, and hike property taxes to raise money for local infrastructure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to add those tax measures to the fall ballot.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The proposed sales tax measure would add 0.5% to Berkeley\u2019s tax rate, which now stands at 10.25%, raising more than $9 million per year of new revenue, according to city estimates. As they look to close a nearly $30 million structural deficit<\/a>, Berkeley officials have said they might close a fire station, lay off police and fire department employees, and slash enrollment in popular summer and after-school programs \u2014 on top of other planned job and service cuts \u2014 if the tax measure is not approved.\u00a0<\/p>\n The council is expected to adopt the city\u2019s budget for the next two fiscal years at a meeting next week. Some council members have said they would not vote to close the fire station \u2014 North Berkeley\u2019s Fire Station 4 on Marin Avenue \u2014 even if the sales tax fails at the ballot box.<\/p>\n The infrastructure measure would increase annual property taxes by $44 for every $100,000 of a home\u2019s assessed value to raise $300 million in bond funding. Officials last year identified 34 projects that could be funded by the bond<\/a>, including renovations of the city\u2019s 911 dispatch center, projects to prepare the Berkeley waterfront for rising sea levels and seismic renovations that could spur a revival of the Civic Center complex.\u00a0<\/p>\n For a home with the city\u2019s median assessed value of $550,000 \u2014 a figure well below the market rate for Berkeley properties, as a result of California\u2019s Proposition 13<\/a> \u2014 the bond measure would increase annual property taxes by $242 per year. Someone with a property valued at Berkeley\u2019s current median home sale price, which stands at nearly $1.5 million<\/a> according to Zillow, would be looking at an increase of about $660 per year.<\/p>\n The sales tax can pass with support from a simple majority of voters, while the bond measure must win \u201cyes\u201d votes from two-thirds.<\/p>\n A handful of public speakers at Tuesday\u2019s meeting criticized the proposed measures, arguing the sales tax increase would drive shoppers away from Berkeley and land harder on low-income households at a time of rising inflation<\/a>, while the bond may not deliver as many improvements as officials hope because of increasing costs.<\/p>\n \u201cA sales tax is regressive, we all know that,\u201d said Isabelle Gaston, a longtime critic of tax increases<\/a>. \u201cThis is not a good time to do this \u2014 in fact, I actually think it\u2019s quite cruel.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n City officials contend Berkeley needs the bond funding to address crumbling infrastructure that will only become more expensive to repair over time. Council members on Tuesday argued the sales tax increase would bring Berkeley\u2019s rate even with those in Oakland<\/a> and Albany, and would allow the city to avoid painful cuts.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is our proposal to the voters to try to mitigate some of the worst of those reductions,\u201d Councilmember Rashi Kesarwani said. \u201cGiven the importance of the services that we\u2019re trying to fund, and the reality that this is simply going to put us on parity with our neighboring cities, I think this is very much the right approach.\u201d<\/p>\n City-commissioned polling earlier this year<\/a> found there was enough support among likely voters for both measures to clear the thresholds they need to pass \u2014 though the share inclined to vote \u201cyes\u201d was within the survey\u2019s margin of error. The measures will land on a November ballot that is likely to have a slew of other proposed new taxes, including another 0.5% sales tax increase to support Bay Area transit agencies<\/a>, a parcel tax to boost Berkeley\u2019s performing arts organizations<\/a> and another parcel tax to create a public bank<\/a>.<\/p>\n A $600 million infrastructure and affordable housing bond put before Berkeley voters in 2022 failed<\/a> with support from 59%<\/a>, short of the two-thirds majority. Two years later, voters embraced the larger of two proposed parcel tax increases to fund street paving work; that measure, which only needed to win a simple majority, had support from 61% of voters<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRelated stories<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\tBerkeley\u2019s budget plan includes \u2018really tough\u2019 cuts, but City Council signals support<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\tMay 20, 2026May 20, 2026, 9:24 p.m.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\tLayoffs, service cuts, sales tax hike: How Berkeley plans to close a nearly $30M budget deficit<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\tApril 15, 2026April 15, 2026, 10:29 a.m.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Berkeley\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Natera_CityCouncilMeeting-MigrationRally_250121_08.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n