G3. _ Ballot measures
Pass local legislation to raise revenue dedicated to local climate action.
Bellingham is developing a proposal for a local Climate Action Fund. The Mayor announced a “strategic pause” in June 2022, to build community support and avoid conflicts with other priority ballot measures in the fall.
Boulder voters approved a city tax on electricity dedicated to implementing its climate action plan in 2006, and renewed it in 2015. It raises about $1.8 million a year and the city has used the revenue in a variety of ways. Nearly 70% of them approved an expanded and restructured tax, with more equity provisions, in 2022. Athens, Ohio voted to add a $0.02/kWh carbon fee to its electricity rates to support installation of solar on public buildings and provide more resources for public investment. (Customers can opt out of it if they choose to.)
Portland voters passed a 2018 initiative establishing the Portland Clean Energy Fund, 65% to 35%. It imposes a 1% surcharge on the Portland sales of retailers with revenues of more than $500,000 in Portland and $1 billion nationally. It’s expected to raise $44 million to $61 million a year, and will be distributed through ongoing grants to non-profits’ projects recommended by a city commission and approved by the City Council. 40% to 60% of the revenue is to go to renewable energy and energy efficiency, 20%-25% to job training and contractor support, 10%-15% to renewable agriculture and green infrastructure, and 5% to future innovation. (20% of the money must go to groups with a history of working with “economically disadvantaged” Portlanders, and workers must be paid at least 80% more than the minimum wage.) (Willamette Week has an article about the politics of the process.) In 2022, after two rounds of grants to projects proposed by community organizations, the City revised the process for allocating the money.
Denver voters passed Measure 2A in 2020, by 64% to 36%, and approved continuing it in 2022. This 0.25% sales tax increase would raise up to $40 million a year to help the city adapt to climate change, reduce air pollution, and lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. (It exempts items like food, water and feminine hygiene products and would aim to reinvest 50% of all funds back into communities of color; the revenue could be used to support a wide range of items in the city’s climate plan.) Supporters claim it would save the city about $20 billion in climate costs over the long run. (Smart Cities ran a piece with links to some discussions of potential costs.)
71% of Ann Arbor, Michigan voters approved a twenty year property tax increase of $1/$1,000 of taxable value to fund local climate action projects. It will raise $7 million/year initially.
Berkeley voters rejected a 2.5% gas & electric utility tax increase in 2020, 52% to 48%. It would have raised $2.4 million a year. PG&E has said it cannot collect taxes on gas and electricity at different rates at this point, but the measure would have authorized the City Council to increase the tax on gas another 2.5%, rising an additional $740,000 a year, if and when PG&E was capable of doing that. The measure created a Climate Equity Action Fund and a Commission to advise Council on how to spend that money, though the new revenue would have gone to the general fund, and wouldn’t have been legally required to go to the climate action fund. (Customers on utility assistance programs would have been exempted.) Albany, California (just north of San Francisco) has passed a similar measure, 59% to 41%. It expresses the intent to spend at least a third of the $675,000 a year it would raise on implementing the city’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan and environmental sustainability measures.
Minneapolis recently raised its utility franchise fee by half a percentage point to provide more than $2 million per year for local clean energy deployment, particularly in underserved communities. including renters, low-income customers, and neighborhoods with high numbers of people of color.
70% of Burlington voters approved a measure allowing the city’s municipal utility to issue $20 million in revenue bonds over the next three years to fund building electrification incentives, install EV chargers, and upgrade the city’s electrical system to meet increased future demands. It expects higher revenues from increased electric sales to help pay back the debt.
The Goleta Union school district in California garnered overwhelming support to make investments in school upgrades by issuing $80 million in bonds through Measure M2020. Renovations will include solar installations, electric vehicle charging, and battery storage across the district’s 11 schools.
Vancouver BC is considering a city-wide residential parking permit program to fund local climate action, with prices for new vehicles linked to their emissions. Reportedly, Montreal and Sydney Australia have similar programs.
Daring Cities recently presented a webinar on other possible sources of funding for local climate action.