San Pablo is asking voters to approve a temporary local sales tax to shore up general city services after years of patching the budget with reserves. Measure R on the Nov. 3 ballot would raise the city's combined sales tax rate from 9.5% to 10% for five years, then step it down before it expires.
What a yes vote does
The official ballot question says the measure would add a half-cent sales tax for five years, generating about $2 million a year, then drop to a quarter-cent for five more years at about $1 million a year, then end. All money would stay in San Pablo, with citizen oversight and mandatory annual audits. It is a general tax, so it needs only a simple majority, and the City Council can spend it on any legitimate city purpose.
A city press release after the July 13 council vote said the temporary half-cent would take the total rate from 9.5% to 10%, then to 9.75% when the rate falls to a quarter-cent, before the tax sunsets after 10 years. Sales tax does not apply to groceries, rent, prescription medicine or most personal services; it applies to retail goods and restaurant meals.
Why the city says it needs the money
San Pablo's general fund pays for police, crime prevention, senior meals, youth scholarships, illegal-dumping cleanup, street work and homelessness help. City Manager Matt Rodriguez said the city has closed gaps by freezing vacant jobs, cutting nonessential contracts and dipping into one-time reserves, but reserves are for emergencies, not everyday operations.
Nearly 59% of general-fund revenue comes from the San Pablo Lytton Casino, Bay City News reported, and that stream has been softening. Separately, an older local sales tax already on the books is scheduled to drop from a half-cent to a quarter-cent on Oct. 1, 2027, which the city forecasts will cut about $1 million a year more from the general fund. That existing tax is not Measure R; Measure R is the new temporary rate voters are being asked to add.
How San Pablo compares
At 9.5%, San Pablo's current rate sits below neighbors such as El Cerrito and Pinole at 10.25%, according to a city presentation cited by Bay City News. Of each taxable dollar, the city says 6 cents goes to the state, 0.5 cents to the county and 1.25 cents to regional transit districts, leaving 1.75 cents local today.
The fight
Council members placed Measure R on the ballot to give residents a say in locally controlled funding. Opponents including the Contra Costa Taxpayers Association and the Libertarian Party of Contra Costa County argue the money feeds the general fund's employee benefits and pensions rather than a locked list of projects. Supporters point to accountability language: annual independent audits and a citizens' oversight committee.
A yes vote creates the temporary stepped sales tax. A no vote leaves the rate at 9.5%. San Pablo voters will also see Measure S, a separate rent-control initiative, on the same ballot. More context is on our Election 2026 hub.