Berkeley's City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to place a 0.5 percent sales tax increase and a $300 million infrastructure bond on the November ballot, as the city races to close a nearly $30 million structural deficit without cutting a fire station or laying off hundreds of workers.

The vote sets up a consequential fall election for Berkeley residents — one that arrives as their November ballot is already getting crowded. A separate regional sales tax to fund Bay Area transit is also heading to Alameda County voters. If both measures pass, Berkeley shoppers would face a combined one-percentage-point increase in sales taxes, pushing the city's rate from 10.25 to 11.25 percent, among the highest in California.

The sales tax measure would lift Berkeley's rate to 10.75 percent, matching levels already set by neighboring Oakland and Albany, according to city officials. City estimates project the increase would generate more than $9 million in new annual revenue. The measure requires a simple majority to pass.

Without it, city leaders have painted a dire picture: potential closure of North Berkeley's Fire Station 4 on Marin Avenue, layoffs in the police and fire departments, and deep cuts to summer and after-school programs serving thousands of children. The City Council is expected to adopt a two-year budget at its meeting next week.

Notably, some council members have said they would refuse to close the fire station regardless of whether the sales tax passes, according to Berkeleyside — a sign of just how politically constrained the city's options are even with the ballot measure in play.

The $300 million bond

The infrastructure measure would increase annual property taxes by $44 for every $100,000 of assessed value. For a home at Berkeley's median assessed value of roughly $550,000 — held well below market rates by California's Proposition 13 — that works out to about $242 more per year. At the current median sale price of around $1.5 million, annual property taxes would rise by approximately $660.

The bond would fund 34 city projects identified last year, including renovation of Berkeley's 911 dispatch center, seismic upgrades to the Civic Center complex, and improvements to the Berkeley waterfront to prepare for rising sea levels. Old City Hall — which needs a seismic retrofit — is among the buildings that could benefit.

Because it's a bond measure, it requires two-thirds approval. That bar has tripped Berkeley before: a $600 million infrastructure and affordable housing bond put before voters in 2022 won 59 percent support, falling short of the supermajority needed to pass. A 2024 parcel tax for street paving did succeed — but that required only a simple majority.

City-commissioned polling earlier this year found that both measures had marginal but sufficient support among likely voters, though the numbers were within the survey's margin of error, according to Berkeleyside.

A crowded ballot

Berkeley's two measures don't arrive in isolation. The Connect Bay Area transit measure — a 0.5 percent regional sales tax covering Alameda and four other Bay Area counties — is also heading to a November vote. Berkeley residents who already face multiple parcel tax asks this cycle, including proposed levies to support local performing arts organizations and a public bank, would see their combined tax burden grow significantly if multiple measures succeed.

Councilmember Rashi Kesarwani defended the council's approach at Tuesday's meeting, saying the stakes justified the ask.

"This is our proposal to the voters to try to mitigate some of the worst of those reductions," Kesarwani said, as reported by Berkeleyside. "Given the importance of the services that we're trying to fund, and the reality that this is simply going to put us on parity with our neighboring cities, I think this is very much the right approach."

Not everyone agreed. Isabelle Gaston, who has opposed tax increases at Berkeley's council meetings for years, did not hide her frustration.

"A sales tax is regressive, we all know that," Gaston said. "This is not a good time to do this — in fact, I actually think it's quite cruel."

The council's unanimous vote to place the measures before voters reflects a shared political calculation: that asking residents for more money is safer than delivering the cuts. Whether Berkeley voters accept that bargain — with several other measures competing for their approval on the same ballot — will become clear in November.