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Residents and advocates clash over proposed 30-year El Cerrito parcel tax for a new library
Summary
Speakers at the Feb. 3 El Cerrito City Council meeting both criticized and defended a proposed 30-year parcel tax to fund a new library, raising questions about bond math, ballot timing, parking and whether funding assumptions are sound; council did not take a formal action on the measure at this meeting.
Several El Cerrito residents used the council’s oral-communications period to press elected officials for more clarity before placing a 30‑year parcel tax for a new library on the ballot.
"The proposal before you is infeasible," said Ira Chernow, an El Cerrito resident, arguing the initiative’s promised revenues and the debt-service coverage ratio in the petition are inadequate. He told the council the tax was projected to raise "$2,700,000 per year" with operating costs of "$900,000 per year," leaving roughly "$1,800,000 for bond payments," while actual bond payments would exceed $2,000,000; he urged the council to "bring in the bond underwriter and get a definitive opinion on what's…
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