Marin County Voters Will Consider Parcel Tax To Upgrade 911 System

By Bay City News Service:

Marin County voters will be asked in the November election to approve Measure A, a parcel tax to replace the county’s emergency communications system.

The tax is one of 18 local measures on the Nov. 4 ballot.

The special $29 annual parcel tax per single-family home is for 20 years and requires two-thirds approval.

Proponents say the county’s aging Marin Emergency Radio Authority’s (MERA) emergency communications system handles 4.4 million radio calls annually from local public safety agencies.

Firefighters, paramedics, police and sheriff’s personnel all rely on MERA for 911 calls, proponents say. The authority was formed 16 years ago by 25 public organizations that created the county’s first unified 911 network.

Proponents, including Marin County Sheriff Robert Doyle, San Rafael Fire Chief Chris Gray and Marin County Superintendent of Schools Mary Jane Burk, say the system is now on the verge of being inoperable.

The system is being used by 400 more radios than the 2,500 it was designed to handle and new federal laws will make it unusable, according to the measure’s supporters.

Upgrading the system’s equipment and software will reduce response times, expand coverage, increase reliability and use the latest technology, supporters say.

“The MERA 911 system is a lifeline in and beyond Marin County. Every resident, business and visitor benefits from the 24/7 system,” Gray said.

“This is a very modest tax and the public benefits 100 percent,” he said.

The advocacy group Citizens for Sustainable Pension Plans opposes Measure A, claiming it is fiscally irresponsible.

CSPP member Richard Tait said the CSPP agrees the next-generation radio system is needed, but the $40 million price tag to operate and maintain the system is “a troubling decision.”

“It represents the latest evidence of fiscal irresponsibility by Marin officials,” Tait said.

Tait said county officials are using parcel and sales taxes and higher user fees to fund essential, core government services that can no longer be afforded within existing budgets because of rising and unsustainable retiree pension and health care costs.

“Over a billion dollars in un-funded retiree benefits are eating up available tax revenues that should fund core services,” Tait said in the ballot argument against Measure A.

“Instead of fixing the problem, officials are proposing new taxes to prop up Marin’s broken retirement systems,” Tait said.

“The proposed parcel tax would fund a 20-year bond, yet the life expectancy for the fixed core equipment of the new system is 15 years,” Tait said. “This would be an expensive replay as taxpayers still owe on our existing system and are being asked to fund a new one,” Tait said.

(Image via Shutterstock)