Measure AA Parcel Tax Information

News Articles
10/31/2003

On August 8, 2002, AC Transit’s Board of Directors voted to place a measure on the November 5 general election ballot seeking voters’ approval for a special tax to help mitigate impacts that substantial projected budget deficits would have on the District’s bus service.  This tax, called Measure AA, was approved by voters in November 2002 by a 68% affirmative vote.

This special tax shall begin with your December 2003 payment and continue for 5 years, ending with your tax payment you make in April 2008.  This special tax is levied on all parcels within AC Transit’s District No.1.  This district No. 1 includes Central and Northern Alameda County and parts of Western Contra Costa County.  These special tax funds will be used to maintain transit service levels.

This Special Tax is calculated at a rate of $24 per parcel.  There are only three exemptions from this special tax, as follows;

• A parcel is otherwise exempt from property taxes, such as a school district parcel.
• The property is undeveloped
• The parcel is developed but vacant for more than six months within a fiscal year. This fiscal year runs from July 1st to June 30th

Your county Property Tax bill includes a line item for this special tax.  The actual tracking of parcel data and the calculations are done by the Special Tax Administrator, which is a private company called NBS.  If you have further questions, please call NBS at 800-676-7516.

Appeals Procedure

The AC Transit Parcel Tax was approved by the voters within the District 1 boundaries in November of 2002: This includes a large portion of Alameda County and a portion of western Contra Costa County.  The Parcel Tax is applicable to all properties with the AC Transit District 1 boundaries.  If disputes arise as to the formula or its application to individual parcels, this Appeals procedure shall govern that process.

The Special Tax was applied to each parcel based upon careful research and sources deemed to be reliable.  If a property owner feels that the Special Tax has been calculated or applied in error, he or she must contact the Parcel Tax Administrator, NBS, at (800) 676-7516. The property owner must make contact as soon as possible, but in any case within one year from the receipt of the tax bill.  NBS will review the application and discuss it with the AC Transit Treasury Official, or designee, who shall review the application of the method of tax.  NBS will respond to the property owner.

If the property owner is still not satisfied with the application, then he or she shall request a final declaration from the AC Transit Board.  Parcel owners should use the Parcel Tax Review Request Form to request a review from AC Transit.  The judgment of the AC Transit Board will be considered final in any interpretations or discrepancies.  In addition, the AC Transit Board may pass any resolutions needed to clarify any ambiguities or issues with regard to the Parcel Tax and its application to parcels.

For more information see:

• Ballot Language for AC Transit Special Tax Election
• Text of Resolution 2067
• Description of District One
• Measure AA Parcel Tax Brochure (English)
• Measure AA Parcel Tax Brochure (Spanish and English)