22,412 / 45.4% Yes votes ...... 26,923 / 54.6% No votes

See Also: Index of all Measures

Financial Implications
The proposed tax rate would limit the annual cost for an average 1,900 square foot home to $79.10 in FY 2005-06. It is estimated that the tax will cost residential taxpayers no more than the following average amounts during FY 2005-06:

Square Feet	Annual Tax
1,200	$ 49.96
1,500	$ 62.45
1,900	$ 79.10
3,000	$ 124.90
10,000	$ 416.34

s/MANUELA ALBUQUERQUE, Berkeley City Attorney

City of Berkeley paramedics provide emergency medical treatment and transport for over 8900 people every year. Countless lives are saved by their heroic and difficult work. Measure M guarantees funding for this vital service and improves medical service to all Berkeley residents by placing trained Paramedics on fire engines at all of Berkeley's seven fire stations.

The Paramedic Services Measure accomplishes two important goals.

First, Measure M closes a $1 million deficit in the City's paramedic services fund and protects funding for this essential service. As with nearly all health care costs, the expense of providing paramedic services has increased in the last few years. The City of Berkeley ensures that no one is ever denied paramedic services because they cannot afford to pay. In prior years, the City has redirected other funds to cover this deficit, but is now dealing with a serious deficit of its own.

Second, Measure M provides funding for the equipment and training for firefighters to serve as Paramedics on fire engines at each of the City's seven fire stations. Fire engines usually arrive before ambulance units when responding to an emergency medical call to 911. If Measure M passes, emergency medical help will arrive faster and lives will be saved.

To accomplish these two important goals, Measure M would cost $79 per year for the average homeowner.
HELP SAVE LIVES. VOTE YES ON MEASURE M.

s/MAUDELLE SHIREK, Vice Mayor, City of Berkeley
s/GORDON WOZNIAK, Councilmember
s/DONA SPRING, Councilmember
s/RUSSELL KILDAY-HICKS, Former Chair, Disaster Council; CERT Instructor
s/ANDY ROSS, Owner, Cody's Books, Inc.

• That's why an adequately staffed Fire Department, fully prepared to provide quality emergency medical services, must be guaranteed.
• Measure M's supporters know you will worry if you don't have good emergency services. That's the bait.

• Nothing in Measure M prevents replacing current funding and using the replaced funding for something else. That's the switch.
• The Council rejected a Berkeley Firefighter sponsored amendment to Measure M that would have guaranteed quality emergency medical services.

• Berkeley has $117 million annually which can be used for services like the Fire Department Paramedic Program.
• Berkeley already has the highest tax rate in the State.
• Revenue from property taxes increased 62% since 1997.

• Ignored the critical need to identify essential services and fund them adequately before paying for other nice-to-have services.
• Cut funding for services across-the-board without regard to whether the service was essential, or the program was effective.
• Added new programs without regard to how they will be funded.

s/ART DAY, Berkeley Fire Safety Commissioner, and individually and on behalf of Friends of the Berkeley Fire Department
s/ROBIN WRIGHT, Member, Lorin District Neighborhood Association
s/MARTHA JONES, Former Member, Berkeley Disaster Council, and individually and on behalf of Claremont Elmwood Neighborhood Association
s/ELEANOR PEPPLES, individually and on behalf of President, North East Berkeley Association Board
s/SHIRLEY DEAN, Former Mayor, City of Berkeley

Berkeley Firefighters provide paramedic services paid for by patient fees, an existing special Paramedic Tax, and General Funds in the Fire Department budget. Measure M doesn't guarantee that all the $1,200,000 extra money raised by this new increase will be used to provide paramedic services in addition to those we already have. In fact, the City Council actually rejected a Berkeley Firefighter sponsored amendment to Measure M that would have required that all the extra money be spent on additional services!

Instead, Measure M allows the City Council to simply replace General Fund money it's already spending on fire and paramedic services with these new funds. The funds that have been replaced could then be used to pay for some other purpose. You could end up with fewer emergency medical response services than what you voted for and thought you were getting. This kind of political "Bait and Switch" game has happened before. If the Council wants money to pay for other services, they should ask for your vote to pay for them directly.

Proponents claim that Measure M is needed to close a $1,000,000 deficit in the paramedic program. No such deficit is identified in the City's budget. The closest thing is a shortfall in the Paramedic Fund, but that's only $178,000 counting both last year and this year.

Vote NO on Measure M. Then join with us, a coalition of neighbors, committed to working to include in the regular budget an adequately staffed Fire Department that is fully trained and equipped to provide the emergency medical services we need. These are essential services. No more games.

s/TRUDYWASHBURN, Chair, Berkeley Fire Safety Commission
s/LAURA MENARD, Chair, ROC (Russell-Oregon-California) Neighborhood Group
s/LAURIE V. BRIGHT, individually and on behalf of, President, Council of Neighborhood Associations
s/FRANK DAVIS, JR., Chair, Black Property Owners Association
s/SHIRLEY DEAN, Former Mayor, City of Berkeley

This straightforward proposal will ensure that trained emergency medical services will be available for every Berkeley resident AND help keep enhanced First Response Companies in service.

MEASURE M WILL SAVE LIVES.

Berkeley has a $1,000,000 shortfall in the existing Emergency Medical Services Tax + a tax dedicated for paramedic services.

Measure M will provide an additional $200,000 to adequately equip and train our firefighters.

Years ago voters established Berkeley's paramedic service through a special parcel tax.

Over the years, costs have risen beyond the income. The City was able to cover the deficit in 2004 by drawing $1,000,000 from the General Fund. - NOW THESE FUNDS ARE EXHAUSTED.

Berkeley is a well run City that spends taxpayer money wisely. Even in these troubled fiscal times the City has maintained a balanced budget and received Moody's highest bond rating.

With ongoing State cutbacks we cannot afford to continue to take general funds to cover these deficits.

MEASURE M WILL SUSTAIN AND IMPROVE PARAMEDIC SERVICES.

MEASURE M WILL ENSURE THAT ALL FIRE STATIONS HAVE TRAINED PARAMEDIC FIRSTRESPONDERS.

Average homeowners (1900 square foot home) will only add $30 per year, for a total annual cost $79 - or 23 cents a day - for first-rate paramedic services.

Please vote for our Paramedic Restoration and Service Tax to keep and improve our excellent paramedic services. If Measure M isn't approved, we must cut our emergency paramedic services.

Please VOTE YES on Measure M.

s/TOM BATES, Mayor, City of Berkeley
s/LONI HANCOCK, Assemblywoman - District 14
s/KARL REEH, Commissioner, Disaster Council
s/SANTIAGO CASAL, Member, Latinos Unidos
s/GORDON WOZNIAK, Councilmember

BE IT ORDAINED by the People of the City of Berkeley as follows:

Section 1. The City of Berkeley is currently experiencing financial difficulties due to statewide and national economic conditions. In order to remedy these difficulties, the City has made significant cuts in its expenditures. However, in order to be able to balance its budget while preserving the services desired by the people of Berkeley, the City also needs to raise additional revenues. In particular, Berkeley residents benefit from paramedic services provided by the Berkeley Fire Department, and desire to increase the existing special tax that funds these services to make up an anticipated deficit, and to enable paramedic services to be expanded so that they are available from all of the City's fire stations.

Section 2. That Berkeley Municipal Code Section 7.90.020 is amended to read as follows:
7.90.020 Tax authorized-Tax rate-Indexing-Reduction of tax if County measure passes.
A. The City Council is hereby authorized to impose a special tax of up to $0.0329 $0.041634 per square foot of improvements in the City of Berkeley.
B. The tax imposed by this chapter shall be operative on July 1, 1997 2005.
C. The City Council of the City of Berkeley is hereby authorized to increase the tax rate authorized by this Ordinance to the extent that the cost of living in the immediate San Francisco Bay Area or per capita personal income growth in California has increased, whichever is greater.

Section 3. Pursuant to California Constitution Article XIIIB, the appropriation limit for the City is increased by the aggregate sum authorized to be levied by this increase in the tax rate for each of the four fiscal years from 2005- 06 through 2008-09.