Question 1

Are you against public banks?

Accepted Answer

No. Against Berkeley property owners alone capitalizing a regional experiment Oakland declined to fund. No. Public banking may be a fine idea for a state or a region to fund. This measure makes Berkeley property owners alone capitalize a regional experiment Oakland already walked away from. The argument is the financing, not the theory.

Question 2

Doesn’t this fund affordable housing?

Accepted Answer

It funds a bank that doesn’t exist. If the charter never comes, Council may lend the money — something the Housing Trust Fund already does. It funds a bank that doesn’t exist. If the charter never comes, Council may lend the money — something the Housing Trust Fund already does, without a new $58 million tax and with no production targets or Berkeley minimum in this ordinance. Loans can go to recipients in Berkeley or elsewhere in the East Bay.

Question 3

What about the Bank of North Dakota?

Accepted Answer

A 105-year-old state bank with a state’s balance sheet. Z is one city’s parcel tax betting on a charter no California public bank has received yet under AB 857. The Bank of North Dakota is a 105-year-old state bank with a state’s balance sheet. Measure Z is one city’s parcel tax betting on a charter no California public bank has received yet under AB 857. LA’s effort collapsed; San Francisco’s municipal finance corporation stalled; FDIC insurance is uncertain. None of that is an argument that a public bank can never be chartered. It is an argument against this tax, this way.

Question 4

Isn’t this just six years?

Accepted Answer

Six years of mandatory compounding increases. The Gann expansion and the precedent are longer. The rate lasts six years, with a mandatory annual inflator and fund rules through June 30, 2033. Section 4 raises the City’s appropriations limit by the full amount of the tax. Six years of compounding is not a rounding error, and the spending-authority precedent is not temporary.

Question 5

There’s a low-income exemption, right?

Accepted Answer

Only if you apply every year with federal returns and W-2s by June 30. Miss it → full tax + lien. Renters get no exemption. Very-low-income owners must apply every year, submitting federal income tax returns and W-2 forms to the City Manager, by June 30. Miss the deadline and you pay the full tax plus penalties, and unpaid tax shall constitute a lien on the parcel. The exemption is for owners, not tenants.

Question 6

Why does this only need 50% + 1?

Accepted Answer

Special tax placed by initiative, so majority under Upland — not the two-thirds most Berkeley parcel taxes needed when the Council puts them on the ballot. This is a special parcel tax placed by voter initiative. Under the Upland decision, that means a majority, not the two-thirds vote most Berkeley parcel taxes need when the City Council puts them on the ballot. The lower threshold is a legal fact about who put it there, not a reason it costs less.

Question 7

Will this lower my other taxes / move City deposits off Wall Street?

Accepted Answer

This tax does not move one City deposit. It taxes improvements to capitalize someone else’s regional project. This tax does not move one City deposit off a commercial bank. It taxes square footage of improvements to capitalize a regional institution that does not exist. If you want a debate about where Berkeley parks its cash, that is a different ordinance — and it is not on this ballot.

Question 8

Who is paying for the Yes campaign?

Accepted Answer

As of mid-August 2026 filings: $155K+ raised, including $45K from the San Francisco Foundation and a $45K loan from Debbie Notkin. As of mid-August 2026 NetFile filings (update before launch): Coalition to Keep Berkeley Money Local raised $155K+. That includes $45,000 from the San Francisco Foundation and $45,000 from Debbie Notkin, later re-disclosed as a loan. Outside philanthropy and a compliance correction are on the public record. Read the filings; don’t invent a conspiracy.

Question 9

Who is behind No on Z?

Accepted Answer

Volunteer neighbors and local property owners, including Within Our Means Berkeley. Not a party committee. Volunteer neighbors and local property owners. Within Our Means Berkeley is part of the effort. This is not a party committee. Treasurer and FPPC filings will be linked on /about once the committee ID is live. We will not pretend to be a council slate.

Question 10

How does this interact with Measures U, V, and Y?

Accepted Answer

U is a two-thirds infrastructure bond. V is a sales tax for city services. Y is a 12-year arts parcel tax. Z is the regional bankroll with no charter. Measure U is a $300 million general-obligation infrastructure bond needing two-thirds. Measure V is a 0.5% sales tax for city services against a ~$30 million structural deficit. Measure Y is an arts parcel tax at about $0.07 per square foot for 12 years. Measure Z is a majority-vote parcel tax for a bank that does not exist. Section 6 of Z even flags ambiguous overlap with other local taxes funding similar uses. When the stack arrives, Z is the weakest, newest, least accountable item. Cut it first.

Question 11

What if I already mailed my ballot?

Accepted Answer

If you have not returned it, you can still mark No on Z. If it is already in, you cannot retrieve it — tell a neighbor. If the envelope is still on the kitchen table, you can still vote No on Z. If it is already in the mail or a drop box, you cannot retrieve it. Tell a neighbor who has not voted. The election is November 3, 2026.

The stack

Statement of the stack