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Albany, a city that loves to tax, is seeking more — and more.
Voters should say no to three separate tone-deaf tax hikes city officials are proposing in the middle of the pandemic. Apparently, the City Council doesn’t recognize that people are struggling financially.
Albany property owners already pay a tax that works out to $489 annually for an average home to help cover the cost of public employee pensions and another $161 a year for bonds for fire and seismic safety and city recreational facilities.
That’s based on a calculation for a home assessed at an average $492,000. The combined levy is marked “CITY OF ALBANY” on property tax bills with no indication what it’s for. It’s an inexcusable hiding of the true purpose.
Property owners also pay nearly $600 a year for eight separate city parcel taxes for things such as libraries, sidewalks, road paving and street lighting. And when they go to sell their property, they pay one of the state’s highest transfer taxes.
Beyond that, residents, whether they rent or own, pay an extra half-cent sales tax and a city levy on their utility bills. Now the Albany City Council wants to increase three of those special taxes.
No on Measure CC— Transfer tax hike
As we said earlier this month in our review of East Bay transfer taxes, the rate on property sales for Albany homeowners, including the small portion that goes to the county, is currently 1.26% of the sales price — the eighth highest rate in California. Transfer taxes are an insidious legal theft of homeowner equity when they sell their homes.
Measure CC would permanently increase that tax rate to 1.61%. In other words, on the current Albany median residential sale price of about $1 million, the city and county would take a $16,100 cut. Nowhere else in California is the tax currently higher for a home of that price.
No on Measure DD— Utility and water tax
California already has some of the highest utility rates in the nation. Now Albany officials want to raise the city tax on electricity and natural gas from 7% to 9.5%. And, just to add insult to injury, they want to also start taxing water bills at 7.5%.
Apparently, they don’t think utility bills are already high enough. And, by the way, these new rates would all be permanent, with no chance for a future voter review.
No on Measure EE— Medical response
Albany property owners already pay about $111 a year for two different parcel taxes for emergency medical response. Those amounts are increased each year for inflation. Now, the City Council says it needs more money for ambulance service and wants to raise one of those two parcel taxes another $44 a year.
We’re all for providing good emergency medical response, but city officials need to find a way to cover the costs with all the tax revenues they already collect. And, yes, this tax increase would also be permanent.
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