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Dear Mayor and City Council,  

Our neighbor association, Claremont Elmwood Neighborhood Association, (CENA) discussed the City of Berkeley’s fiscal crisis at our October Board of Directors meeting. The Board of Directors voted unanimously to oppose any parcel tax unless or until many other alternatives are considered. The Board of Directors will actively oppose the current proposal before City Council. We will ask our members and all of the residents of District 8 to oppose it as well. 

While we appreciate the efforts already undertaken to address our city’s budget deficit, we want to see efforts made in several other areas to generate funds before resorting to a tax increase. Given that passage of the parcel tax will only cure approximately 50 percent of the projected deficit, pursuing additional measures is required.  

1. With approximately 40 percent of Berkeley’s land area off the tax rolls because of nonprofit or institutional exemptions, any increase in assessments falls on a disproportionately smaller number of property taxpayers. Therefore, we want a concerted and systematic effort to negotiate payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT fees) from the major exempt landholders in Berkeley, as is done in other cities in similar circumstances. These fees must be proportional to the services received to eliminate the subsidy of these institutions currently paid for by property taxpayers. 

2. We believe that with approximately 75 percent of our general fund tied up in salaries, there has to be some limit on cost-of-living increases, which amount to about 5.5 percent per year. A negotiated reduction (or elimination for this year) would be preferable to other scenarios of layoffs and cutbacks in service. 

3. The city should explore other avenues of revenue generation, such as an entertainment surcharge on non-educational events, including at UC Berkeley. 

4. We urge City Council to establish a Nextus tax on all new development in Berkeley. This is a one-time tax correlated to the transportation and infrastructure modifications impacted by the development. The Transportation Department has been studying the legality of the Nextus tax and will be presenting this to City Council. 

5. The city must make a commitment to review all of its existing programs to make them more efficient. The city should continue a hiring freeze and staff reductions through retirements, until the budget is in balance. 

6. We want the city to review the PERS retirement system and change it to reflect the reality of the fiscal crisis. 

7. A large number of Berkeley residents who are voters are renters. The rent control laws must be changed to require these residents to pay their fair share of the city’s services they use. Under the current rules, the property owner cannot pass on any of the proposed parcel tax increase. 

We are proud to live in a city that has been so generous in supporting tax increases that have preserved our parks, enhanced our street lighting, given us a great library, supported our schools, and much more. Now, however, we feel we have reached the limit and cannot support the tax measure without serious and active consideration of alternatives. 

Thank you for your consideration, 

Dean Metzger 

President of CENA