MENDOCINO CO., 9/24/26 — Mendocino County voters will decide five local measures in the Nov. 3 election. None is countywide. Each appears only on ballots inside the city or district that proposed it.
The county elections office posted the full text of each measure, with the impartial analyses and ballot arguments, on Sept. 2. The figures below come from those documents unless noted.
A proposed 1% sales tax for roads in the unincorporated county didn’t make the ballot. It failed in July to get the four votes it needed from the Board of Supervisors.
Measure B: Fort Bragg fire equipment tax
What it does: Sets a parcel tax of $50 a year for 10 years, from fiscal year 2027-28 through 2036-37, on each parcel in the city, except those it has no authority to tax. The money can be spent only on equipment for the Fort Bragg Fire Department.
Background: Fort Bragg voters approved a fire equipment tax in 1983, 1994, 2004 and 2014. The 2014 measure set the rate at $22 a parcel. It has expired, according to the city attorney’s analysis.
What it raises: About $123,900 a year, by the city’s estimate.
To pass: Two-thirds.
Arguments: Bob Rossi, a director of the Fort Bragg Rural Fire Protection District, and former Mayor Dave Turner signed the argument in favor. They wrote that the money can’t go to salaries or pensions and that the treasurer must report on it each year. No argument against the measure was filed.
Measure C: Point Arena lodging tax
What it does: Raises the city’s tax on hotel, inn and vacation rental stays from 12% to 14%, starting April 1, 2027. Guests pay it. There’s no end date.
What it raises: About $35,833 a year for the city’s general fund, according to the city attorney’s analysis. The argument in favor says the existing tax brought in about $200,000 in fiscal year 2024-25.
To pass: A simple majority.
Arguments: Mayor Barbara Burkey and Vice Mayor Dan Doyle signed the argument in favor. They wrote that the money helps pay for roads, parks, public restrooms and the city pier. No argument against the measure was filed. Burkey is also on the ballot for city council.
Measure D: Coast Life Support District ambulance tax
Who votes: Registered voters inside the ambulance district. The argument in favor describes the district as running from Irish Beach south to the Timber Cove/Seaview area in Sonoma County, and inland to within view of Lake Sonoma. Voters in both counties decide it together.
What it does: Raises the district’s ambulance parcel tax to $101 per “unit of benefit.” The rate would go up each July with the consumer price index for the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward area. There’s no end date.
What a unit means: The number of units depends on how the land is used. A single-family home is three units, or $303 a year. A vacant buildable lot is one unit. A duplex is six. Stores and other commercial buildings are 10. Hotels, motels and restaurants are 20, or $2,020. Undeveloped farm, timber and pasture land is zero.
The current rate: The ballot materials don’t give it. District board records show voters last raised the ambulance tax in May 2020, from $44 to $61 a unit. At $61 a single-family home pays $183 a year; at $101 it would pay $303.
A second tax this measure leaves alone: The district collects a separate parcel tax for urgent care, which voters approved in 2014 — $74 on a buildable lot, $148 on a developed parcel. Measure D supersedes only the district’s 2020 ambulance tax ordinance, so the urgent care tax continues. The district’s budget for this fiscal year calls for collecting it in full.
What it raises: An estimated $1,972,934 a year. The ordinance says the money goes to emergency medical, ambulance, life support and transport services, and to the district’s other necessary operating expenses.
To pass: Two-thirds.
Arguments: The argument in favor says emergency calls have doubled and the cost of each call is up more than 25% with no increase in the tax. It says the district answers more than 1,000 calls a year and that a round trip to a hospital is more than 100 miles. Signers include Bronwyn Golly, the district’s emergency medical services chief; board member Naomi Schwartz; and Barbara Burkey, who signed as a community member. No argument against the measure was filed.
Measure AB: Santa Rosa Junior College bond
Who votes: Voters inside the Sonoma County Junior College District, which includes part of Mendocino County as well as Sonoma and Marin.
What it does: Authorizes $830 million in bonds for classrooms, labs, job training facilities, technology and repairs. Bond money can’t be spent on salaries or operating costs.
What it costs: The district estimates the highest tax rate at $25 per $100,000 of assessed value, with an average of $22. The tax would be collected through fiscal year 2058-59. Total repayment with interest is estimated at $1.76 billion. The county counsels’ analysis says the rates are projections and could go up or down.
To pass: 55%.
Arguments: This is the only one of the five with an argument against, and the only one where each side filed a rebuttal. The argument in favor says the measure replaces expiring bonds and does not raise the current SRJC bond tax rate. Its signers include historian Gaye LeBaron. Andrew J. Smith wrote the argument against, which says the district hasn’t shown how it arrived at $830 million, double its last bond of $410 million.
Measure K: Southern Humboldt hospital bond
Who votes: Voters inside the Southern Humboldt Community Healthcare District, which reaches into northern Mendocino County.
What it does: Authorizes $25 million in bonds toward a new hospital to replace Jerold Phelps Community Hospital in Garberville. The bond text says the 77-year-old building doesn’t meet coming state earthquake rules.
What it costs: An estimated 8 cents per $100 of assessed value, or $80 per $100,000, from fiscal year 2027-28 through 2052-53. Total repayment with interest is estimated at $50.4 million.
A discrepancy in the Mendocino pamphlet: The impartial analysis posted by Mendocino County gives the rate as “$8 per $100,000.” The tax rate statement in the same document says $80. The version of the analysis posted by Humboldt County’s elections office also says $80.
To pass: Two-thirds.
Arguments: The argument in favor says state law requires the hospital to be replaced within three years or closed. Signers include Redway Fire Chief Seth Ayers. No argument against the measure was filed. The Yes on K campaign puts the full cost of the hospital and clinic at nearly $100 million. The bond would cover part of it.
Voting
Mail ballots go out to every registered voter starting Monday, Oct. 5. Drop boxes open the same day. The last day to register is Monday, Oct. 19. After that, voters can register and vote in person through Election Day. Ballots sent by mail must be postmarked by Tuesday, Nov. 3, and reach the county by Nov. 10. Ballots dropped off in person are due by 8 p.m. on Election Day.
The full text of each measure is on the county elections website under “Measures on the Ballot.” The elections office is at 707-234-6819.