Benicia voters overwhelmingly support tax hikes, bonds

BENICIA – Benicia voters showed overwhelming support in the March primary for ballot measures to raise sales taxes and taxes on hotel stays as well as a school bond measure, according to preliminary election results released Tuesday.

As of 9 p.m. Tuesday, Benicia’s Measure A – which would increase Benicia’s transient occupancy tax on hotels and vacation rentals from 9 to 13% – was winning with 80% of the vote. And Measure B – which would raise Benicia's sales tax by three-quarters of a cent – was winning with 75% of the vote. Both measures require approval by more than 50% of voters to pass.

Meanwhile, Measure C – which would allow the Benicia Unified School district to issue up to $12.5 million in bonds to finance infrastructure projects – received 62% of the vote. It requires 55% approval to pass.

Most of the votes counted so far were mail-in ballots received prior to election day, which will likely account for more than half of the total votes cast in the primary race. Spring primaries typically have lower turnout than general elections in November.

Benicia City Manager Mario Giuliani declared that the measures had passed late Tuesday.

"Tonight, Benicia voters chose to invest in themselves and protect Benicia’s quality of life by passing Measures A and B," Guiliani said in a statement on Facebook. "I am so very grateful and appreciative of the voters of Benicia who believed in their community."

The strong support for the sales tax measure was a reversal from 2022, when voters narrowly rejected the same sales tax hike. 

The Benicia City Council voted late last year to put the measure on the ballot again after declaring a fiscal emergency. In 2022, the city's tax measure emphasized road repair, but this year city leaders stressed that if a new sales tax measure did not pass, the city would not be able to maintain basic services and would have to cut staff.

Declaring a fiscal emergency was a necessary step for the council to place the measure on the March ballot. Otherwise, such measures are required by law to be placed on the November ballots alongside the City Council races.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with a statement from Benicia City Manager Mario Giuliani.