This is a 2-minute summary of what’s on the ballot. Click here to listen to them all.
Measure V seeks to renew a tax on utility bills paid by households in several of Alameda County's unincorporated areas.
The six point five percent tax applies to the communities of Ashland, Castro Valley, Cherryland, Fairview, San Lorenzo and Sunol.
The tax brings in $12 million annually and funds general government services for those specific communities.
It expires next June. California’s constitution requires the entire county to vote on tax measures — even if they affect just a fraction of its residents. The proposal needs a simple majority to pass.
A small group calling itself the Alameda County Taxpayers’ Association, is against Measure V. It’s unhappy that local government officials have kept renewing the tax since its first enactment 28 years ago. Also, the association is worried officials will siphon off the revenue to fund local government pension obligations.
The county’s auditor-controller, treasurer-tax collector, and other local leaders counter that that hasn’t, and won’t happen.
They say that Measure V’s tax revenue is necessary so that they don’t have cut essential services across the board.
So here’s what it comes down to, Alameda county voters: If you think residents of unincorporated areas should fund their own local government services through a six point five percent tax on their utility bills, vote "yes" on Measure V.
If you think that residents should not renew that tax, then vote "no."
