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Campaign signs fill a front yard in Berkeley in the weeks before the 2024 election. Credit: Ximena Natera, Berkeleyside\/Catchlight<\/p>\nCampaign signs fill a front yard in Berkeley in the weeks before the 2024 election. Credit: Ximena Natera, Berkeleyside\/Catchlight<\/p>\n
Berkeley voters will decide on seven local ballot measures this November, including proposals to double the soda tax, raise parcel taxes to fund a new public bank and increase sales taxes to help balance the city\u2019s budget deficit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the state level, Californians will decide on the usual array of ballot measures<\/a>, among them a billionaire tax championed by progressives, voter ID requirements backed by Republicans and an $11 billion affordable housing bond. Voters in five Bay Area counties will weigh in on a sales tax increase to fund struggling public transportation agencies<\/a>. But only Berkeley residents will vote on these measures by Nov. 3.<\/p>\n Sales tax increase addressing budget deficit <\/p>\n To address part of Berkeley\u2019s $30 million general fund deficit<\/a>, city officials are asking voters to approve a half-percent sales tax increase<\/a>, which could generate $9 to 10 million annually for the city\u2019s general fund. The increase would bring Berkeley\u2019s sales tax rate to 10.75%. \u00a0<\/p>\n The measure can pass with support from a simple majority of voters. April polling<\/a> commissioned by the city found 52% of Berkeley voters supported the increase.<\/p>\n The City Council approved a budget last month<\/a> that lays off workers, eliminates vacant positions and slashes<\/a> several local programs, including a winter homeless shelter and \u201cMobile Crisis Team,\u201d which sent mental health professionals to some emergency calls, to shrink the size of the deficit. If the sales tax fails, officials have warned they could lay off employees in Berkeley\u2019s police and fire departments, close the fire station on Marin Avenue in North Berkeley and reduce hours at recreation centers.<\/p>\n $300M bond for city infrastructure<\/p>\n City leaders are also asking voters to approve a bond measure for local infrastructure totalling $300 million. The city has identified 34 potential projects the bond could fund, including renovations to Berkeley\u2019s 911 dispatch center and building a sea wall to protect from rising sea levels at the marina\u2019s South Cove. The measure would increase annual property taxes<\/a> by $44 for every $100,000 of a home\u2019s assessed value.<\/p>\n It must win support from two-thirds of voters.<\/p>\n The April survey<\/a> found 69% of voters initially said they supported the bond, but support fell to 64%, below the threshold for passing the measure, after voters heard statements supporting and opposing the new tax. Respondents became increasingly concerned about tax burden, affordability and the amount of revenue measures expected on the ballot, pollster Lake Research Partners found.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Doubling Berkeley\u2019s soda tax <\/p>\n Berkeley was the first city in the country to pass a 1-cent-per-ounce tax on sugary beverages<\/a> in 2014, also known as the \u201csoda tax.\u201d A decade later, voters overwhelmingly agreed to extend the levy<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Now supporters of the tax are asking residents to double it to 2 cents \u2014 though the measure could spark a challenge from the soda industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n After the 2014 tax passed, similar measures started gaining popularity across Northern California. The American Beverage Association responded by threatening to pursue a ballot initiative<\/a> limiting local governments\u2019 power to raise revenue through new taxes \u2014 a move soda tax proponents equated to holding the state hostage. In a compromise, lawmakers agreed to impose a bill that implemented a 13-year ban on new local soda taxes and taxes for other groceries, though existing taxes like the one in Berkeley remained in place.<\/p>\n Proponents of the soda tax acknowledge the soda industry may sue if Berkeley voters adopt their measure, arguing that doubling the soda tax is the same as creating a new one.\u00a0<\/p>\n But they contend the law would be on Berkeley\u2019s side. Santa Cruz voters approved a new soda tax in 2024, prompting a lawsuit from the American Beverage Association and other retailers. A judge ruled last month that the state\u2019s soda tax ban does not take away the authority<\/a> of California charter cities such as Santa Cruz and Berkeley to enact sugary drink taxes.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe argument was that charter cities are entitled to pass policies that protect the health of their citizens,\u201d said soda tax advocate Holly Scheider.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Berkeley soda tax measure appears likely to pass: 69% of survey-takers<\/a> were in support, according to the April polling. Still, the Santa Cruz ruling may be appealed, and there is no guarantee that soda companies will not target Berkeley\u2019s soda tax increase.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe beverage companies are bullies, so they may sue anyway, we don\u2019t know,\u201d Scheider said.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to the Citizens Initiative to Preserve and Strengthen Berkeley\u2019s Soda Tax<\/a>, funds will go to fighting health issues such as Type 2 Diabetes and heart disease, as well as clean water and healthy food access programs, and nutrition education.<\/p>\n Parcel tax to fund public bank<\/p>\n A proposed parcel tax would provide seed funding to start a public bank. Supporters say it would lend money to fund investments in affordable housing, small businesses and green energy and infrastructure.<\/p>\n Property owners would be charged 6 cents per square-foot of residential improvements \u2014 or $90 per year for the owner of a 1,500 square-foot home \u2014 and 9 cents per square-foot of commercial improvements. That would generate<\/a> $9.2 million per year, with annual adjustments based on inflation and cost of living, meaning the levy would rise. The tax would end after six years.<\/p>\n Unlike typical banks, public banks<\/a> do not make loans to individuals, nor do they have physical branches and ATMs. Instead they loan to local financial institutions like community banks and credit unions,\u00a0 and specify how the money should be used.\u00a0<\/p>\n The groups Public Bank East Bay and the Coalition to Keep Berkeley Money Local collected thousands of signatures to put the measure on the ballot.<\/p>\n A board of directors, which would be proposed by Public Bank East Bay and must be approved by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, would set the bank\u2019s policy, according to Debbie Notkin of Public Bank East Bay. Staff members would administer the loans, which could go to recipients in Berkeley or elsewhere in the East Bay.<\/p>\n The first and only public bank in the nation was established in 1919 and operates in North Dakota. Since then, communities in Sacramento<\/a>, New York City<\/a>, Philadelphia<\/a> and more have considered the idea, but have yet to go through with it.\u00a0<\/p>\n Parcel tax to provide grants for performing arts groups<\/p>\n Berkeley\u2019s performing arts organizations are struggling to bounce back<\/a> from the pandemic. Several organizations have closed in recent years, including the Bay Area Children\u2019s Theater, TheatreFirst and the California Jazz Conservatory\u2019s degree program.\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s why arts groups are asking voters to support a new parcel tax to generate money for their sector.<\/p>\n The tax would cost 7 cents per square foot of improvements, or $105 per year for a 1,500 square-foot home. It is estimated to generate approximately $6.3 million annually and $84.8 million over the tax\u2019s 12-year duration.<\/p>\n That money would be put into a special fund in the city treasury, according to the ordinance<\/a>. It can only be used to provide additional grant funding for Berkeley nonprofit performing arts organizations \u2014 colleges, for-profit businesses, individual artists, nonprofit organizations unrelated to performing arts and school districts are ineligible to apply.\u00a0<\/p>\n Amendments to 2024\u2019s Measure BB<\/p>\n Voters will decide on an ordinance that tweaks regulations from 2024\u2019s Measure BB<\/a>, a set of landlord-tenant rules endorsed by tenant advocates.\u00a0<\/p>\n Key elements of the latest tenant measure include:\u00a0<\/p>\n Allowing the rent board to waive or reduce rent registration fees charged to nonprofits. The 2024 measure extended rent board services to housing owned by nonprofits, and the board is required to charge those landlords fees of up to $344 per unit. Affordable housing groups complained<\/a> the new fees could cost some nonprofits hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.<\/p>\n Capping maximum rent increases for fully covered units at 10%. Berkeley\u2019s rent control law limits how much landlords can raise rents each year, but allows them to \u201cbank\u201d increases over multiple years. This new rule would bar landlords from imposing banked increases of more than 10% in a year.<\/a> The provision is driven by concerns that tenants who have not had regular rent increases may get a new landlord willing to raise rents in large increments.\u00a0<\/p>\n More rights for tenant unions. The measure would give tenants in smaller buildings the right to unionize regardless of whether their landlord uses a property management company, dropping the threshold from 10 units to five. Properties with four or fewer units would be able to unionize if a property management company is in place. The amendment also clarifies that if four or fewer units organize, the union remains valid even if a property management company no longer oversees it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Tweaks to election procedures <\/p>\n Another ballot measure<\/a> would make several minor changes to election procedures. Notably, it will reduce filing fees for council office candidates from $150 to $25, eliminate the option for candidates to submit signatures rather than pay the fee and remove the need for candidates to list their place of residence, birthplace, and taxpayer status. It also increases the budget to administer Berkeley\u2019s program providing public financing<\/a> to certified election candidates, from $250,000 to $400,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n Smaller updates include various changes to wording, dates and deadlines.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRelated stories<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\tBerkeley voters to decide on sales tax hike, $300M infrastructure bond<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\tJune 17, 2026June 17, 2026, 12:28 p.m.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\tCampaign for tax to fund Berkeley arts groups says it has signatures needed to make 2026 ballot<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\tMay 15, 2026May 15, 2026, 10:02 a.m.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/medium-Aug.31-Local-groups-want-to-fix-up-Berkeleys-Civic-Center-Old-City-Hall-6.jpg\")
A renovation and seismic upgrades at Berkeley\u2019s Old City Hall, seen in a 2022 file photo, is one of the projects that could be funded with a proposed infrastructure bond. Credit: Ximena Natera, Berkeleyside\/Catchlight<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/12-Xavier-Morales.jpg\")
Xavier Morales canvasses in support of Berkeley\u2019s first-in-the-nation soda tax during the 2014 campaign to pass the measure. Credit: Gael McKeon<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/aurora_exterior.jpeg\")
The Aurora Theatre Company shut down last year, one of several closures in the struggling performing arts sector. The company is now plotting a return. Credit: Aurora Theatre Company<\/p>\n
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