Newcomers may not know it, but when Prop 13 wiped out the local tax base years ago, Piedmont and other cities voted in parcel taxes, based on lot size, to make up the difference. The parcel tax raises $2.2M, about 10% of the annual budget. Technically it’s called the Municipal Services Special Tax and the ballot measure stipulates that it shall be used for these services:
- police and fire protection,
- street maintenance,
- building regulations,
- library services,
- recreation,
- parks maintenance,
- planning and public works
So, don’t tune out the March Primary election waiting for anybody in November.
Vote for Measure T.
Garrett Keating, Former Piedmont City Council Member
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Newcomers may not know it, but when Prop 13 passed, the Movers and Shakers of Piedmont decided to circumvent the Proposition, add a Parcel Tax, increase it as often as possible, have no data nor accountability as to exactly how much is going specifically where. You only get a generic list. No data. AND nobody EVER prints an opposing view, nor data, in any newspaper nor on the PCA web site.
The smaller parcels, I have owned one for 40 years, do not get their piece of the pie. The only reason our street was ever fixed was that EBMUD had to tear and replace. The Western City limits are not maintained by the City. I have photos.
It’s too late, most of us have sent in absentee ballots, but I still wonder why no one speaks up, especially PCA.