Marin County’s fall election includes 15 revenue measures

The Nov. 8 election in Marin County will include measures to help purchase scenic open space land, bolster the finances of libraries, maintain municipal services and more.

Cumulatively, the county will decide 15 measures, although most will affect only certain pockets of voters.

The Coalition of Sensible Taxpayers, a Marin watchdog group also known as COST, remained neutral on most of the measures.

“There were only three that we looked into seriously,” said Mimi Willard, COST’s founder and president.

The measure likely to be seen by the most Marin voters is Measure B.

“In terms of number of registered voters, it looks like about 60% will vote on the measure,” said Marin County Registrar of Voters Lynda Roberts.

The measure would renew a parcel tax to support the Marin County Free Library for nine years and boost the tax from $58 per year to $98 per year, increasing up to 3% annually based on the consumer price index.

The tax would generate an estimated $4.7 million annually. The library says the tax would allow it to maintain its hours of operation, provide round-the-clock online library access, upgrade library facilities and enhance programs.

Another high-profile measure, though it will affect far fewer voters, is Measure M. It is designed to raise about $18 million of the $42.1 million needed to acquire the Martha Co. property in Tiburon so it can be preserved as open space.

Measure M calls for an annual $335-per-parcel tax that would increase 2% per year to pay for the issuance of $23 million in bonds. Only residents in Belvedere and Tiburon east of Trestle Glen Boulevard would be taxed. The tax would remain in effect until the bonds are repaid.

Some of the revenue from the bonds would be used to retire debt from two previous bond offerings to purchase the Old St. Hilary’s Open Space Preserve land. The same residents being asked to approve Measure M are paying for those bond offerings, and retiring the debt from the previous offerings will reduce their overall tax burden.

Willard said COST dislikes flat parcel taxes “in which a studio condo owner pays the same as the owner of a mansion or shopping center.”

However, she said, “In the end, we figure it’s up to the relatively small number of Tiburon voters to decide whether they want to pay for Martha.”

Larkspur, Sausalito and San Anselmo will have measures on the ballot involving sales taxes to fund city services and other needs.

With Measure G, Larkspur proposes a quarter-cent increase in the city’s sales tax, to 1%, to pay for city services such as disaster preparedness, removal of hazardous brush, repairing storm drains and maintaining streets. It is estimated the tax would raise about $700,000 annually. It would continue until ended by voters.

COST vice president Laura Effel and former Larkspur councilman Ron Arlas submitted an argument against Measure G that will appear in the official voter handbook. They fault Measure G for proposing a general tax with no end date.

Sausalito’s Measure L would increase the city’s sales tax from 0.5% to 1% starting April 1. The projected $2.8 million in annual revenue would be used to maintain the city’s long-term financial viability and provide essential services such as storm drain repairs, street maintenance and public safety services. The tax would sunset in 10 years unless renewed by voters.

Sausalito also proposes Measure K, which seeks to repeal the city’s ban on cannabis sales and establish an application process for retail cannabis businesses. Such enterprises would be required to pay Sausalito 7.5% of their net profits or $50,000 per year, whichever is greater.

San Anselmo’s Measure J would increase the town’s sales tax from a half-cent to 1 cent and extend the tax for nine years. The tax, which is projected to raise $2.4 million annually, would pay for general services such as repaving roads, fixing potholes, maintaining firefighter and paramedic services and improving fire protection.

San Anselmo also proposes Measure H, which would extend the town’s library services tax at the rate of $70 per parcel for another nine years. The tax, which started out at $49 per parcel in 2010, will continue to include a 3% cost-of-living increase. The tax revenue would be used to maintain library operating hours, expand book collections and maintain programs.

Measure D in Belvedere proposes a real estate property transfer tax of $8 per $1,000 to be paid by buyers or sellers. The tax would remain in effect for 30 years. The tax would generate an estimated $1.6 million annually. Much of the money would be used to strengthen sea walls, levees and utility lines against the threat of natural catastrophe, largely along San Rafael Avenue and Beach Road.

Measure C in Ross proposes renewing the Ross Elementary School District parcel tax at $1,550 per parcel with 3% annual increases for another 10 years. The estimated $1.27 million in annual revenue would be used for a variety of purposes, including retaining teachers and maintaining low student-to-teacher ratios.

Measure O, proposed by the Inverness Public Utility District, would impose a parcel tax of 20 cents per square foot of each structure on improved parcels and a parcel tax of $150 per parcel for vacant lots.

The revenue would be used to pay for fire fuel reduction, wildfire prevention and response planning, and the construction of rainwater storage systems. It’s projected that the tax, which would continue unless repealed by majority vote of the electorate, would raise $276,000 annually.

Measure O proposes continuing for four years a paramedic services special tax of $94.50 per residence, or 1,500 square feet of developed nonresidential property, that would increase $3 per year.

Measure F would continue the Fairfax paramedic services tax for four years at the same rate as Measure O. However, the tax in this case would be capped at $103.50 per residence or nonresidential property.

Measure N, covering County Service Area No. 27, proposes to extend the paramedic tax another four years. The annual tax of $94.50 per residence or 1,500 square feet of nonresidential property would generate an estimated $69,000 a year to support the Ross Valley Paramedic Authority. The tax would be adjusted up to $3 a year.

Corte Madera’s Measure E also proposes continuing a paramedics services special tax for four years. The measure requests $78 per residence, or per 1,000 square feet of floor area for nonresidential uses, for fiscal years 2023-2024. After that the tax would increase $3 per year to a maximum of $87.

Measure P in the Inverness Public Utility District and Measure Q in the Stinson Beach County Water District both involve complying with an arcane requirement created by the Gann Appropriations Limit, established by Proposition 4 in 1979.

The Gann law placed limits on the amount of tax proceeds that state and local governmental agencies can appropriate and spend each year. The limits are different for each agency and change annually. They are calculated by taking the amount of tax proceeds that were authorized to be spent in fiscal year 1978-79 and modifying them for changes in inflation and population for each subsequent year. The limit can be overridden by a majority vote.

Measure P requests approval to include the combined total of all applicable revenue sources for the fiscal years 2022-23 and 2025-26 in order to ensure an adequate funding base for the Inverness Public Utility District.

Measure Q would approve an appropriations limit of $2.47 million for 2022-23 and the use of that limit to determine the limits in fiscal years 2023-24 and 2025-26.

Neither of the two measures proposes a new tax. They would only authorize the spending of money that is already being collected.

Seven of the measures — B, C, E, F, H, M and N — require the approval of two-thirds of voters to pass. Eight of the measures — D, G, J, K, L, O, P and Q — require only majority voter approval.