Rohnert Park's Measure K Asks Voters for a Half-Cent Sales Tax to Close a $10 Million Gap

Rohnert Park voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to raise the city's sales tax by half a cent to help cover a growing budget shortfall.

What Measure K does

Measure K would add a 0.5% local sales tax, lifting the rate in Rohnert Park from 9.75% to 10.25%, The Community Voice reported. The city estimates it would raise about $5.5 million a year. It's a general tax, so it needs only a simple majority, and the money goes into the general fund for any city purpose. It has no end date and would stay in place until voters repeal it, with annual audits and public spending reports required, according to the city and the county's impartial analysis. If it passes, collection would begin in April 2027.

The county's analysis notes that residents and visitors alike would pay it on purchases in the city, while necessities such as groceries and prescription medicine are exempt under state law.

The city's case

A July staff report put the deficit at about $10 million, with more than $230 million in deferred maintenance. City Manager Marcela Piedra said the city has frozen hiring and combined departments. The Development Services department, which handles planning, building code compliance and housing, took a 20% budget cut, and public safety was trimmed 3%. The city says it typically has fewer than five public safety officers on duty at once for roughly 44,500 residents.

Supporters say the money would protect 911 response, fire protection, drinking water, parks and street repairs. Former Mayor Greg Nordin chairs the campaign. "If Measure K fails, a lot of the services we need will be subject to serious cuts," he told the paper.

The opposition

Four other former mayors, Pam Stafford, Gina Belforte, Joe Callinan and Ami Ahonatu, oppose it. In a letter, they argued the deficit could reach about $15 million by fiscal 2030-31, so $5.5 million a year would cover only part of it. "Where's the other $10 million coming from?" Belforte asked. She also pointed to a 14% water rate increase this year and sewer rates that will keep rising annually through 2028.