TAX NEWS - June 2010

California Tax: Berkeley pool tax defeated

Berkeley will lose two public swimming pools following the defeat of a property tax increase Tuesday night that would have raised money to keep them.

With about 17,000 votes tallied, Measure C got only 60 percent of the vote. It needed 66 percent to pass.

The measure would have raised property taxes to bankroll a new warm water swimming pool for people with disabilities and a new 25-meter swimming pool at the King pool complex. Measure C also included renovations for the Willard pool on Telegraph Avenue and the West Campus pool at University Avenue and Browning Street.

Now that the measure failed, the city will close Willard Pool June 30, said Scott Ferris, recreation and youth services manager for the city. That pool costs about $120,000 a year to operate, he said.

The city will, however, continue a free hot shower program seven days a week for the homeless at the Willard pool, Ferris said.

The city's warm water pool is slated for demolition in one year so Berkeley High can build more classrooms. There is no plan to build a new one.

Since 2002, Berkeley voters have been asked to tax themselves for public services 13 times, but they have agreed to it just five times, according to City Clerk Deanna Despain.

Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates, who supported the pools measure, adopted a Zen-like attitude to it's defeat.

"We did the best we could, now we just have to move on," Bates said.

"We gave it our best shot but 60 percent of the vote was not sufficient. Our feeling was we really couldn't move ahead and close Willard and close the warm water pool without giving people a chance to speak to the issue. It's bad that it has come to this, but there is not much choice." Bates added that there are about 16 pools in Berkeley including those at UC Berkeley and the downtown YMCA that are open to the public.

Marie Bowman, a member of a group which campaigned against Measure C, called Berkeley Can Do Better, said the tax proposal did not make sense.

"Why not look at how we can accommodate recreation for all," Bowman said.

"Do we want to cut everything else and dump all this money into pools? I believe people in Berkeley are very generous, but we have to make tough decisions. We have to live within our means."

Robert Collier, a UC Berkeley researcher and co-chair of the campaign for Measure C, said he's afraid the defeat spells doom for other city services funded by the public.

"Conservatives have now succeeded in preventing the rescuing of Berkeley pools, and the next target will be our schools," Collier said. "And after that, who knows what. There certainly are conservatives in this town, and they don't call themselves Republicans, but that's what they are."

The city spent about $300,000 in the last two years on planning and environmental reports for potential pool construction.