In June, Oakland voters will get to decide whether property owners will pay a new parcel tax — or force the city to look somewhere else for tens of millions of dollars needed to maintain city services.
The City Council voted unanimously last week to approve the certification of a ballot measure for the June 2 primary election. The council’s vote was procedural; the measure’s supporters, including some residents and city unions, gathered the signatures needed to place the measure on the ballot.
If approved by voters in the June 2 primary election, the measure would impose a $192 annual parcel tax on single-family parcels and other real estate, with exemptions for certain low-income households, seniors, and others. The tax would raise about $34 million annually over the next nine years…