Berkeley already has a $30 million budget deficit. Why add a new tax now?
Why should Berkeley pay for a bank that also lends money to Oakland, Richmond, and other cities?
This tax increases every year automatically. How is that fair to taxpayers?
The bank doesn't exist yet, and might never get approved. Why fund something that isn't real?
Don't programs like IBank, the SBA, and municipal bonds already do this?
Isn't a public bank too risky? The only real example is North Dakota, and Berkeley isn't North Dakota.
If Berkeley can't manage its own budget, why should we trust it to run a bank?
Won't this just let politicians play politics with our money?
Berkeley already has a $30 million budget deficit. Why add a new tax now?
Answer
Measure Z's parcel tax is dedicated entirely to capitalizing the public bank. It can't legally be spent on anything else, and it doesn't touch the general fund. In fact, a public bank is designed to ease pressure on Berkeley's budget over time: once capitalized, it becomes a self-sustaining, revenue-producing asset that returns profits to the city, rather than a program Berkeley has to keep funding year after year. See how the tax dollars are structured and protected →