This is a 2-minute summary of what’s on the ballot. Click here to listen to them all.
Alameda County Measure X is a bond measure that would authorize the Alameda County Fire Department to take out a $90 million loan to repair and replace some of its outdated fire stations.
Alameda County supervisors voted unanimously to place Measure X on the November ballot after a similar proposition — Measure D — was almost approved in March. It needed 66.67% voter approval, but received only 66.37% of the vote. It needed just 95 more “yes” votes to pass.
If Measure X gets approved this time around, the $90 million bond would be paid back over the next 31 years. It would levy a 1.6 cent tax per $100 of a property’s assessed value. In Alameda County, where the median home price is nearly $900,000, it would cost your average homeowner about $142 a year. And the money would be spent upgrading seven fire stations in unincorporated parts of Alameda County.
Members of the small Alameda County Taxpayers Association oppose Measure X. They say the bond will end up costing much more than it’s worth. And they contend there’s no guarantee the money will be spent on fire station improvements.
Like Measure D earlier this year, Measure X needs two-thirds of the vote to pass.
So, Alameda County voters, vote yes on Measure X if you want to approve a $90 million dollar bond to repair and renovate fire stations in unincorporated parts of your county. Vote no if you don’t want property owners to be paying back this bond over the next three decades, or if you think the fire stations don’t need to be repaired.
