Ballot measure asks El Cerrito voters to raise taxes for a new library
on May 31, 2026
Update: Primary election night results showed Measure C likely to lose, with 72% of tabulated votes against it.
Everyone loves libraries and in El Cerrito, voters are being asked to back that sentiment with a tax increase that would fund a new one. Some say the city instead should show a little more love to the current library, which, with a few enhancements, might meet the community’s needs.
On Tuesday, El Cerrito voters will decide on Measure C, a 30-year parcel tax that would be used to build a library three times the size of the current one, on land owned by BART. Property owners would pay 17 cents per square foot, generating $3.1 million annually to finance the planning, construction, and a decade of operations and maintenance for the new building.
Proponents say a modern library would help close the digital divide, boost the local economy and offer resources to help children improve their reading skills. They say it isn’t just a cosmetic upgrade but a necessity, given that the 77-year-old library isn’t up to code with today’s seismic, fire, health or safety standards, and is not fully accessible for patrons with disabilities.
“Yes on C promotes community engagement, providing a safe space for children and youth programs, senior programs, an expanded library collection, and community meeting rooms,” reads the argument. It was signed by five community members including Alan Miller, president of the El Cerrito Library Foundation, which is promoting the cause.
Opponents say the proposed building is too big and the measure supporting it is poorly written. Among other things, they note it would allow City Council to increase the tax without voter approval. They point out its projected cost has gone from $21 million to $37.2 million in three years — a 77% increase without explanation. When the measure expires in 30 years, they argue, the city will have to close a nearly $800,000 hole.
“We have a library. We own it. It is not going anywhere,” reads the argument written by two members of Neighbors for a Better El Cerrito, which is working to defeat the measure. “Vote no and tell the city to come up with a good plan.”
Post-war building
The El Cerrito Public Library, a small and unglamorous one-room facility, is the busiest branch in West Contra Costa County. Built when Harry Truman was president and expanded to its current size in 1960, the facility has needed some TLC for decades.
El Cerrito’s quaint quarters lack some of the amenities found in more modern libraries such as large meeting rooms, study spaces and device-charging lockers. Though it would be cheaper to renovate the current library, which the city already owns, proponents of the ballot measure say it wouldn’t make financial sense.
To bring the library up to code, the usable space would get smaller, and the project would cost around $10 million, which the city doesn’t have, said Mayor Pro Tem Rebecca Saltzman.
One of the locations the city is considering for a new library is the El Cerrito Plaza BART development, which has been in the works for over six years.
“It sounds like a small investment for a big return,” said Lars Edwards, a library user who finds the “yes” argument persuasive.
Steven Aresnik, another frequent library user, agreed, saying El Cerrito’s library is in desperate need of an upgrade.
“My high school library 50 years ago was better upgraded than this,” he said.
“Is Measure C perfect? No. But if we wait for a perfect measure, there won’t be a new library,” he added.
Those opposed to the measure say that doesn’t have to be the case. Their issue isn’t against a new library as much as against this plan, which they say wasn’t carefully crafted. For example, they note that the tax would start in December, even though the city doesn’t have a building plan or a definite location, let alone, an actual construction date.
As two University of California professors and El Cerrito residents wrote in a recent Op-Ed in the East Bay Times, “Supporters are asking residents to write a blank check and trust that the money will eventually be put to good use.”
The measure will require a simple majority to pass. If approved, it would include a citizen oversight board and exemptions for qualifying seniors.
4 Comments
Leave a Comment
Richmond Confidential welcomes comments from our readers, but we ask users to keep all discussion civil and on-topic. Comments post automatically without review from our staff, but we reserve the right to delete material that is libelous, a personal attack, or spam. We request that commenters consistently use the same login name. Comments from the same user posted under multiple aliases may be deleted. Richmond Confidential assumes no liability for comments posted to the site and no endorsement is implied; commenters are solely responsible for their own content.
Richmond Confidential
Richmond Confidential is an online news service produced by the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism for, and about, the people of Richmond, California. Our goal is to produce professional and engaging journalism that is useful for the citizens of the city.
Please send news tips to richconstaff@gmail.com.
“they note that the tax would start in December, even though the city doesn’t have a building plan or a definite location, let alone, an actual construction date. ”
If that’s not reason enough to vote No on this I don’t know what it.
“The measure will require a simple majority to pass. If approved, it would include a citizen oversight board and exemptions for qualifying seniors”
Yes, because it failed 10 years ago to get 75%.
Also there is no senior exemption. None. One if a fund that hasn’t been funded since 2008(!) the other is not an exemption but a delay. A lien is put on your house in lieu of the exemption.
This plan is a give away to the BART and the developer. Vote NO.
Go here to read the facts and not the spin.
https://nomoreforevertax.org/factcheck/
The only sited the Committee for a Plaza Station Library and the city considered was the El Cerrito Plaza BART affordable housing project. On Friday, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) effectively eliminated grant funding for the state’s main affordable housing grant program.
So the entire basis for Measure C no longer exists. That is yet another reason to vote No.
El Cerrito’s Impact Report
Although Griffin Structures has provided estimated costs for construction and operation of five scenarios, as previously stated, the City Council has provided direction to advance and develop a plan only for Scenario 3: the inclusion of a new library at the El Cerrito Plaza BART TOD project. Based on this direction, staff has spent years engaging with BART and the TOD Development Team to create a plan for a new library at the El Cerrito Plaza BART TOD, including negotiating deal points and outlining necessary real estate transactions to allow the City Council to confirm its intent to include a library in one of the buildings in the TOD project provided funding is committed.
Article doesn’t mention that Parcel C West in BART parking lot has lost any state funding in support of affordable housing. Also that City Council (and others) have been pushing a library at BART for ten years. Only after pushback do they now say, “Oh, we’ll look into the other options. Also that the (also added on because of pushback) senior exemption is only for low income seniors (not general low income folks, like Albany’s exemption)- and is really a lien on their property.
One might also add that signatories to the petition to get Measure C on the ballot were duped — told the cost would be $21 million (when the City knew the cost was $37 million and his that fact). In addition, the cash-strapped City of El Cerrito spent $80,00 to get the measure on the June ballot passage rate of 50%. +1) instead of putting it on the November ballot (for free, but a passage rate of 2/3).
These omitted facts (and others) show Measure C to be a bad deal for El Cerritans. A more sensible plan is to defeat Measure C and come up with a better plan for a new and/onproved library.
“Proponents say a modern library would…help children improve their reading skills.”
This is an example of the ridiculous claims of the “Yes” campaign. My children and I spend may happy hours at our current library and they are excellent readers .