Mill Valley in the News

“From the beginning of this process a year ago, my emphasis was on this generation doing what it takes to harden our town for subsequent generations,” Vice Mayor Stephen Burke said. “A new roof on the library is certainly part of that, but it’s the deeper investments we have to make that we haven’t necessarily fully understood the scope of yet.” “We may feel comfortable at the moment, but this investment is what our generation needs to do on behalf of those who come after us,” he said.

“The largest item on November’s ballot is a $10 to 20 billion regional bond that, if passed, promises to create 45,000 affordable homes in the nine-county Bay Area,” he wrote. “It’s sponsored by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s Bay Area Housing Finance Agency. BAHFA reports that “a $10 billion bond would require a tax of $10.26 per $100,000 in assessed value – or about $100 per year for a million-dollar home.” Double that if the bond is for $20 billion.”

On the heels of city efforts to fund its massive, long-term infrastructure needs via a Transfer and Real Property Transfer Tax – an effort whose polling ultimately didn’t meet the necessary support to pass via a EMC Research survey of likely voters – City of Mill Valley officials pivoted in March to direct staff to present a 1% Sales Tax increase ballot measure to voters in November to establish a dependable source of local funding for crucial City services and facilities. The total, long-term needs are $150 million to $180 million in the next 10-15 years,” city officials said at a City Council meeting Monday.