Will San Jose Impose Yet Another Parcel Tax to Fund Core Services?

The San Jose City Council is considering a new parcel tax to fund park maintenance and other core services. The new tax would be in addition to other core service taxes San Jose residents currently pay. These include a parcel tax for libraries (Measure B passed in 2014) and a parcel tax for road maintenance (Measure T passed in 2018). The cost of placing a new parcel tax on the November ballot is estimated to be $2 million.

At its June 18 meeting, the council was presented with polling data on several alternative parcel tax measures under consideration for placement on the November ballot. (Sample questions and results shown above. Source: City of San Jose Intergovernmental Relations, June 18, 2024)

The polling results indicate that a new parcel tax amounting to 1 cent per square foot of residential property ($100 for a 10,000 square foot lot) has a strong possibility of passing with a 66.6% threshold required under Prop 13. If ACA 1 (now re-worked and renamed ACA 10) passes, the required threshold would drop to 55%.

The council voted unanimously (11–0) to conduct more polling in June-July to refine the language in a ballot measure so that the chances of securing >66% voter approval is maximized.

The council will review updated polling and proposed ballot language at its August 6 meeting and decide whether to move forward with placing a measure on the November ballot.

It’s worth noting that the poll questions did not mention existing city parcel taxes or take into account other tax measures that SJ voters will be considering such as the $20 billion Bay Area regional housing bond and local school district parcel taxes.