Politics

BERKELEY (BCN) ― Three tax measures and a medical marijuana measure with a long history highlight a list of seven measures that are on the Berkeley ballot on Nov. 4.

Berkeley voters have approved a number of tax measures over the years and the city has one of the highest property tax rates in the state, but in 2004 a majority of voters said enough is enough and defeated four tax measures.

City leaders are making another attempt to raise taxes this year, but they are being opposed by a vocal group of neighborhood leaders.

Measure FF is a $26 million bond measure that would renovate, expand and make seismic and access improvements at the city's four neighborhood branch libraries. It requires a two-thirds majority and would call for homeowners to pay an additional $27 annually.

Proponents, including Mayor Tom Bates and former mayor Shirley Dean, say the bond will restore the branch libraries, bring the buildings up to code standards, meet seismic requirements and make them fully accessible.

Opponents, including Marie Bowman, the president of the Berkeley Alliance of Neighborhood Associations, and Dean Metzger, the president of the Claremont Elmwood Neighborhood Association, say that library spending has increased by 56 percent from 2002 to 2008, more than doubling the 22 percent rise in the consumer price index, and the issue is poor management, not lack of money.

Measure GG, which also requires a two-thirds majority, asks taxpayers to pay an additional $78 a year to raise $3.6 million annually to pay for overtime to keep all of Berkeley's fire stations open all the time.

It also would fund advanced life support for first-responder paramedics, improve disaster preparedness with a better radio communications system and beef up emergency medical services.

Proponents, who again include Bates and Dean, say Measure GG will prevent fire station closures and cuts to fire and emergency services and equip paramedics at each fire station to provide emergency medical care.

Opponents, including Bowman, David Krasnor of the Tyler and King Neighborhood Association and Betty Hicks of Oregon Street Watch, say in their ballot argument that the measure is "unconscionable" and is "playing on our needs and fears by threatening us with fire station closures and untimely medical help unless we pay extra for these basic services."

The opponents say "there is no shortage of money" and Berkeley firefighters already earned a salary of more than $100,000 a year, with 20 percent of firefighters making more than $200,000 annually, before they were recently given a 14 percent raise.

Measure HH, which requires a simple majority, would increase the city's appropriation limit by authorizing the city to continue using previously voter-approved tax dollars to fund libraries, parks and emergency medical services.

Proponents, including Bates and City Council members Darryl Moore and Gordon Wozniak, say the measure doesn't create a new tax and if it doesn't pass the city will lose tens of millions of dollars in previously-approved tax revenue and will be forced to reduce city services dramatically.

But opponents, including Bowman, Krasnor and James Kilpatrick of the Berkeley Property Owners Association, say that Berkeley used to pay for basic services from its general fund without special taxes and accuse the City Council of demanding extra taxes to pay for those services so it can divert the general fund to pay for non-essential items.

The opponents say the city's budget has increased by more than 60 percent in the last 10 years and re-authorizing special taxes "should not be a rubber stamp process."

Measure JJ, which requires majority approval, would eliminate limits on the amount of medical marijuana that could be legally processed by patients or caregivers, establish peer review for medical marijuana collectives to police themselves and allow medical marijuana dispensaries to locate where permitted without a public hearing.

A similar measure, which was called Measure R, failed by only 191 votes in the 2004 election but a judge nullified the results last year, ruling that Alameda County election officials mishandled a recount and ordering that the measure be placed back on the ballot.

Measure KK, which requires a simple majority, is a citizen initiative that would require a public vote for any high-occupancy vehicle lanes or transit-only traffic lanes in Berkeley in the future.

Measure II would amend the city's charter to extend the deadline for redistricting council district boundaries after each census is conducted.

The current deadline is only one year but the amendment would allow up to three years.

Measure LL, which requires a majority vote, is a controversial measure that would change the powers of the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Supporters, including Bates and his wife, state Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, say the measure fixes the city's landmarks law so it complies with state law requiring the city to make land use decisions within set deadlines.

Opponents, including Sylvia McLaughlin, a the co-founder of the environmental group Save the Bay, say Measure LL would expedite the demolition of historic buildings.

They also say it would add to global warming because nearly half of the greenhouse gases produced in the U.S. come from the construction, demolition and operation of buildings and the preservation and retrofitting of historic buildings is "our most effective weapon against global warming."

(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)