City of Piedmont
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
DATE: January 16, 2024
TO: Mayor and Councilmembers
FROM: Rosanna Bayon Moore, City Administrator
SUBJECT: Endorsement of Measure F / City Services Tax Renewal March 5, 2024 Special Municipal Election
RECOMMENDATION
Consider a resolution endorsing Measure F.
DISCUSSION
The Municipal Services Tax (“City Services Tax”) has been in existence for more than four decades. It was first approved by voters in 1981, again in 1984, and every subsequent four years.
It was last approved by Piedmont voters in 2020 and is set to expire on June 30, 2025. The City Services Tax funds core City services, including police, fire and paramedic services, the maintenance of parks, greenspaces, stormwater infrastructure, streets and public facilities, in addition to planning, library, recreation and other community services.
On October 16, 2023, the Piedmont Budget Advisory and Financial Planning Committee (BAFP) recommended to the City Council that a renewal of the tax be placed before the voters. The BAFP evaluated the City’s 10-year financial projections and maintenance needs, concluding that long term stable funding is essential for core City services.
At the City Council’s November 20, 2023 meeting, action was to place the renewal of the tax on the March 5, 2024 ballot. The ballot measure proposes a 20% increase and 12 year term to preserve existing services levels citywide, augment staffing for the emergency 911 communications center and leverage technology. Measure F amounts to an estimated increase of $12-21 per month for most property owners.
CITY ATTORNEY REVIEW
The City Attorney has reviewed the staff report.
FISCAL IMPACT
In the first year of implementation, a 20% increase is estimated at $545,000 and the proposed renewal will generate revenues in total estimated at $3,272,000 in Fiscal Year 2025/26. The rate Agenda Report Page 2
of the City Services Tax in future years will be subject to an annual consumer price index (CPI) adjustment or 4% - whichever is less.
ATTACHMENTS
A: City Attorney Impartial Analysis of Measure F
B: Resolution
Attachement A Agenda Report Page 3
CITY OF PIEDMONT
Resolution No. XX-2024
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PIEDMONT
ENDORSING MEASURE F
WHEREAS, at the regular City Council meeting of November 20, 2023, the City Council adopted Resolution 72a-2023, placing a measure to renew Piedmont’s Municipal Services Parcel Tax on the ballot for the Special Municipal Election of March 5, 2024, subsequently designated as Measure F; and
WHEREAS, Measure F is a continuation of Piedmont’s Municipal Services Parcel Tax (“City Services Tax”). The City Services Tax funds critical city services. It is a yearly assessment on improved lots based upon type of use and, in most cases, parcel size; and WHEREAS, the City Services Tax has been in existence for more than four decades.
It was first approved by voters in 1981, again in 1984, and every four years since that time; and
WHEREAS, the City Services Tax was last approved by Piedmont voters in 2020 and is set to expire on June 30, 2025; and
WHEREAS, the City Services Tax funds core City services, including police, fire and paramedic services, the maintenance of parks, greenspaces, stormwater infrastructure, streets and public facilities, in addition to planning, library, recreation and other community services; and
WHEREAS, the Piedmont Budget Advisory & Financial Planning Committee evaluated the City’s 10-year financial projections and maintenance needs, concluding that long term stable funding is essential for core City services. The proposed 12-year term allows for sound and fiscally responsible planning, as well as voter approval; and WHEREAS, the City Services Tax will contribute 7% of General Fund revenues in Fiscal Year 2023/24, and without the renewal of this measure, service level cuts across departments will be required; and
WHEREAS, Measure F amounts to an estimated increase of $12-21 per month for most property owners; and
WHEREAS, the 20% rate increase proposed by Measure F would bring in an additional $545,000 in revenue for Fiscal Year 2025/26, and would allow the City to improve 911 capabilities, increase critical dispatch staffing support for Police and Fire emergency response, and invest in technology, such as expanded Automated License Plate Readers, to enhance City services and public safety.
Attachment B Agenda Report Page 4
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Piedmont does hereby endorse Measure F.
I certify that the foregoing resolution was passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the Piedmont City Council on January 16, 2024 by the following vote:
Ayes:
Noes:
Absent/Abstain:
Attest: ____________________________________
Anna M. Brown, City Clerk
Attachment B Agenda Report Page 5