Emeryville Council backs study of business‑license modernization and parcel tax as part of 2026 revenue options

Emeryville — City staff and outside consultants laid out multiple options Tuesday for placing one or more revenue measures on the November 2026 ballot to address a projected structural general‑fund shortfall of about $8 million to $13 million over the next five years.

The presentation, led by Finance Director Sharon Fredriksen with consultants from RGS and HDL, showed the city’s business license tax currently raises about $6.6 million (roughly 14% of the general fund) under a $1 per $1,000 gross‑receipts formula and that the ordinance dates to 1984. Consultants modeled two primary modernization approaches: a single flat gross‑receipts rate for all businesses and a variable gross‑receipts model that groups businesses into five categories. The variable model produced larger revenue estimates in the staff scenarios — ranging from roughly $3.3 million up to $6.7 million in additional revenue under higher‑rate scenarios — while the flat single rate produced more modest gains in the staff examples.

The nut‑graf: the council directed staff to pursue further development of a business‑license modernization option (staff and advisory committees favored a variable gross‑receipts model) and to continue analysis of a parcel tax with a residential component in the $75–$100 range, while…