SHIFT Bay Area
March 4, 2025
Our very own Tom Rubin was selected by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association to be their 2024 “Taxfighter of the Year”. As we detailed in our very first substack post, Tom uncovered the math error that helped sink Regional Measure 4, an astonishingly badly designed proposal that would have cost you $21,000 over 53 years for every million dollars of property you own.
By Kate Talerico
February 19, 2025
California voters could soon be asked to authorize spending billions of dollars on new affordable housing. East Bay Assemblymember Buffy Wicks and state Sen. Christopher Cabaldon, a Yolo County Democrat, this week brought back a proposal to place a $10 billion bond for affordable housing programs on the June 2026 ballot after failing to get the measure on the November 2024 ballot.
By Kota Suzuki,Data team intern
Nov 20, 2024
Over the last several decades, an increasing number of California cities have transitioned to “charter cities,” and many more could follow suit. The main obstacle? Recent elections show many residents don’t actually want that designation.
Charter cities in California are incorporated jurisdictions that can impose special taxes at higher rates and with greater flexibility than the state law allows. To become a charter city, a city has to adopt a charter through a majority vote of the city’s electorate.
by Susan Kirsch
September 22,2024
Too much debt
Proposition 5 will introduce a tsunami of long-termdebt.
Prop 5 will reduce the approval threshold for localaffordable housing and public infrastructure bonds from the current two-thirdsvoter requirement to 55%, making it easier for cities, counties and specialdistricts to pass these measures.
By SUSAN SHELLEY
August 24, 2024
Proposition 5 makes it easier to raise property taxes.
The November ballot measure gets around Proposition 13’s limitations on property tax increases by making it easier for local governments to pass bonds, a method of borrowing money that is then paid back — with interest — by adding extra charges to property tax bills, sometimes for decades.
By TIM REDMOND
AUGUST 15, 2024
The $20 billion regional housing bond that was supposed to be on the November ballot would have been a game changer. The money would have paid for 70,000 units of non-market affordable housing, enough to make a dramatic difference in homelessness, housing costs, air quality, and so, so much more. Nolw it’s gone.