El Cerrito council votes 4–1 to place library parcel‑tax initiative on June ballot and appropriate $80,163

The El Cerrito City Council voted 4–1 Thursday to place the qualified El Cerrito Library Initiative on the June 2 ballot and to appropriate $80,163 for election expenses, following a staff presentation on an Elections Code section 92.12 impact report and extensive public comment for and against holding the election in June.

The measure would create a citywide annual parcel tax capped at an initial 17 cents per square foot of improvements (or $100 per vacant parcel), with revenues deposited into a special fund restricted to uses spelled out in the ordinance, including construction and, for the first ten years after construction, library operations. City Manager Karen Pincus and City Attorney Skye Woodruff led the presentation; staff and a retained consultant estimated initial annual revenue roughly at $3.16 million, or about $331 per average single‑family home.

Why this matters: supporters argued a June vote preserves grant and developer timelines and avoids construction inflation, while opponents said more time for voter education and further refinement of costs and exemptions argues for a November election. The council’s decision locks in the city’s procedural obligation to place the initiative on the ballot unchanged and begins the formal calendar (impartial analysis and argument deadlines). If the measure…