Measure Q: City of Richmond
City of Richmond · Contra Costa County · November 3, 2026
The question on your ballot
To support rapid , 911 emergency medical response, modernize and rehabilitate unsafe/deteriorating firefighter housing and facilities, including mold/asbestos abatement/removal, replace electrical systems, leaky pipes/roofs, and improve structure resiliency during disaster s, shall the City of Richmond’s measure authorizing $120,000,000 in bonds at legal rates, levying an estimated average tax rate of $22.15/$100,000 of assessed valuation, averaging $7,568,158 annually while bonds are outstanding, requiring citizen oversight, audits, and spending only on approved projects, be adopted?
In plain language
Measure Q would let the City of Richmond borrow money. It would do this by selling $120,000,000 in bonds. A YES vote approves the bonds to pay for faster 911 medical response. It would also fix unsafe firefighter housing. This includes removing mold and asbestos. It also includes replacing old pipes, roofs, and electrical systems. A NO vote means the city does not borrow this money. These repairs would not be funded this way. Property owners would pay the bonds back through a property tax.
Fiscal impact
An estimated average tax rate of $22.15 per $100,000 of assessed property value, averaging about $7,568,158 a year while the bonds are being paid off.
Impartial analysis
CITY ATTORNEY’S IMPARTIAL ANALYSIS OF MEASURE Q (Elections Code Section 9280) This measure was placed on the ballot by the Richmond City Council. It requires a two- thirds vote of the electorate to pass. If approved, this measure would authorize the City of Richmond to issue general obligation bonds in a principal amount not to exceed $120,000,000, to be repaid through an ad valorem property tax levied on all taxable property within the City. The proceeds of the bonds would fund: • Repair, replacement, or reconstruction of fire stations, including seismic improvements; • Renovation, upgrade, reconstruction, or acquisition of firefighter living quarters, including remediation of hazardous materials and improvements related to applicable building standards; • Repair or replacement of electrical systems, roofs, plumbing, and piping at fire stations; • Structural, seismic, and other resiliency improvements at fire stations; • Repair, replacement, or installation of fixtures and building systems such as emergency generators, HVAC systems, and communications infrastructure; and • Construction, renovation, upgrade, reconstruction, or acquisition of training facilities, administrative offices, apparatus bays, and other facilities supporting Fire Department operations. The City Council retains discretion over the scope and sequencing of individual projects, and completion of all listed improvements is not guaranteed. Bond proceeds may be used only for the acquisition or improvement of real property and fixtures, and related incidental costs, and may not be used for other municipal purposes. The measure includes the following accountability requirements: proceeds may be spent only for the specific purposes described in the measure; proceeds will be deposited into a separate account; the City Council will appoint a Community Oversight Committee of City residents to monitor expenditure of the proceeds; the Director of Finance will file an annual report to the City Council on funds collected and expended and the status of authorized projects; and all expenditures will be subject to an annual independent financial audit. The average tax rate to repay the bonds is projected to be $22.15 per $100,000 of assessed valuation, averaging approximately $7,568,158 annually while the bonds remain outstanding. The highest tax rate is projected to be $24.06 per $100,000 of assessed valuation, first applying in fiscal year 2028. The total debt service, including principal and interest, if all bonds are issued and sold, is estimated to be $249,749,206, with the final fiscal year in which the tax is anticipated to be collected being 2060. The Tax Rate Statement, prepared under Elections Code Section 9401, contains additional detail and is available from the Richmond City Clerk. The maximum interest rate on the bonds would be 12 percent per annum. Bonds may be issued in one or more series as determined by the City Council. DocID #77510v1 A “YES” vote authorizes the City to issue the bonds as summarized above. A “NO” vote does not authorize the City to issue the bonds. This analysis summarizes the measure’s legal effect and is not an argument for or against the measure. The full text of the measure is available in the Voter Information Guide and from the Richmond City Clerk. SHANNON MOORE Interim City Attorney, City of Richmond
Official ballot arguments
Filed for the official voter guide by each side, printed as submitted.
Argument in favor
ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF MEASURE: Q City of Richmond: Argument in Favor of Measure Q Richmond's emergency response infrastructure is failing us-and our first responders. RECEIVED AUG 1 7 2026 CITY CLERKS OFFICE CITY OF RICHMOND When a.heart attack, stroke, serious injury, or other emergency strikes, every second counts. But our aging, undersized stations can't accommodate enough firefighters or the latest equipment needed to respond quickly. Slower response times put residents at risk when speed is a matter of life or death. Today, some Richmond firefighters work in seismically unsafe buildings, with cracking foundations, leaky roofs, mold, and outdated electrical systems, jeopardizing their health and safety while they work to protect ours. Measure 1,1 is a responsible, accountable plan to fix Richmond's emergency response infrastructure. It authorizes $120 million in bonds to modernize and rehabilitate unsafe, deteriorating firefighter facilities, which will help improve emergency response times and protect the health and safety of our firefighters. Key investments will include: • Improving facilities and infrastructure to support rapid 911 emergency medical response, matching the standard of care available across the County. • Bringing firefighter apparatus, equipment, and facilities up to current safety and industry standards. • Rehabilitating unsafe firefighter housing, including removing mold and asbestos. • Replacing deteriorating electrical systems, leaky pipes, roofs, and other aging infrastructure in fire stations. • Bringing aging fire stations, some more than 80 years old, up to current building and safety codes. • Improving the resiliency of fire stations and emergency response facilities during earthquakes, wildfires, and other disasters. Measure Q. requires strict accountability: independent financial audits and mandatory citizen oversight ensure every dollar is spent only on approved projects. Richmond families deserve fast emergency response times and firefighters who are safe, equipped, and ready when they are needed most. Vote YES on MeasureG to protect our neighbors, our first responders, and our community's future. Join Richmond firefighters, emergency medical responders, and neighbors across every district. Vote YES on Measure Q. Word count: 297 Each Argument may be up to 300 words. Election Code 9162, 9315 The undersigned Proponent{s) or Author{s) hereby state that such argument is true and correct to the best of their knowledge and belief. Name Juan Munoz Title President, United Business Organization Name Rev. Sergio Mora Title Pastor Name Myrtle L. Braxton Karla M. Palma Melgar Registered Nurse Fernando Ramirez Firefighter
REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF MEASURE Q Measure Q promises strict accountability, but Richmond's own records show that the City bent the rules to put it on the ballot. Before asking voters to approve $120 million in new debt, city staff bypassed their own procurement rules. Records show SCI Consulting Group performed roughly $97,000 of "Phase 1" polling and feasibility work, including a taxpayer-funded poll fielded May 12-29, 2026, before the City Council approved the sole-source contract covering that work. The sole-source justification was dated April 16, 2026, yet wasn't brought to Council for approval until the June 16 consent calendar, with a contract start date backdated to April 28. A second phase adds $150,000 for "informational and ballot-readiness services," bringing the contract to $247,000 without fixing anything at a fire station. The City has known for years that its fire stations need repair, yet rather than opening the consulting work to competitive bid through a standard RFQ/RFP process, a step that could have saved taxpayers money, staff chose a single, sole-source vendor without prior Council approval. If they can't follow their own rules asking for money, why trust them spending it? While Measure Q authorizes $120 million in bonds, it puts taxpayers on the hook for repayments estimated at $249,749,206. That falls on top of the school bonds and parcel taxes Richmond property owners already pay, including $52 a year for a hospital that closed in 2015. Vote NO on Measure Q. The undersigned proponent(s) or author(s) of the Rebuttal to the Argument In Favor of Measure Q at the General Election for Contra Costa County, to be held on 11/3/26, hereby state this argument is true and correct to the best of (his/her/their) knowledge and belief. 1. Name, Title: Marc Joffe, President, Contra Costa Taxpayers Association
Argument against
ARGUMENT AGAINST MEASURE Q Vote No on Measure Q. Richmond's firefighters deserve safe, functional stations. Measure Q is the wrong way to pay for them. Richmond property owners are already among the most heavily taxed in California. On top of the basic one percent rate, they pay roughly 0.42 percent more every year in voter-approved bond levies, over $420 per $100,000 of assessed value. West Contra Costa school bonds alone cost about $250 per $100,000, the highest school-bond rate in the county. Community college bonds, two BART bonds, and a regional park bond pile on further. Homeowners still pay a $52 hospital parcel tax for Doctors Medical Center, which closed in 2016 and was demolished. Enough is enough. Measure Q involves borrowing $120 million and forces property owners to repay $249,749,206, more than double, with the tax collected all the way through 2060. You would pay for decades, at interest, to fix leaky roofs, old pipes, mold and electrical systems that ordinary budgeting should have maintained. And Richmond does not need to borrow. The city just received the Chevron settlement, roughly $550 million over ten years. The entire fire-facility need it has identified is about $115 million. Two years of settlement money covers all of it, with no new tax and no interest. The city knows this. When Councilmember Bana pressed for a backup plan, City Manager Shasa Curl confirmed that if voters say no, Richmond will simply use settlement funds to upgrade the stations. A no vote puts no firehouse at risk. Richmond's own poll agrees: 81 percent said the city "should be more responsible and spend the money it already has." Fix the stations with the money already in hand. Do not pile another quarter-billion-dollar tax on property owners who already pay enough. Vote No on Measure Q. The undersigned proponent(s) or author(s) of the Primary Argument Against Measure Q at the General Election for Richmond (in Contra Costa County), to be held on 11/3/26, hereby state that this argument is true and correct to the best of (his/her/their) knowledge and belief.
What supporters and opponents say — outside sources (not official ballot arguments)
Statements by campaigns, officials and news coverage, quoted with attribution and linked to the original. VoterDecoder did not write them and does not endorse either side.
Supporters say
No public statements in favor were found.
Opponents say
No public statements against were found.