Merced leaders and top administrators say Measure B on this year’s General Election ballot is an opportunity for the city to boost and improve general city services, and take overall quality of life standards to the next level in a fast-growing city.
They say it’s a direct response to many issues residents are most concerned about — high-quality emergency response, more road repair, less homeless on the streets, clean, safe, welcoming parks, and recreation opportunities and other services for young people.
If approved by voters, Measure B would increase the city’s sales tax rate by 1 percent, or one cent. The city estimates the general tax measure will raise about $18 million per year for all local use. It comes with citizen oversight of all spending, along with independent annual audits. There’s no sunset clause; however, local voters do have the ability to end the measure through a future ballot process.
Right now, Merced’s sales tax rate is at 8.25 percent, which is below the state’s average for cities, at around 8.75 percent to 9 percent. Measure B would take Merced to 9.25 percent compared to Los Banos, Atwater and Livingston at 8.75 percent. The highest sales tax rates in the state are around 11.75 percent.
“Measure B has certainly been in the works for a while,” says Mayor Matthew Serratto. “We have been talking about this for years. We have used a lot of polling — multiple rounds of polling and analysis — along with outreach to the community in a variety of ways.
“Our sales tax is currently lower than our surrounding cities and the state average. But if you look at Modesto, for example, with their Measure H in 2022, they’ve been able to transform their city with the revenue from that tax. Modesto went from 15 to 25 homicides a year to zero homicides in 2025. Parks, roads, fire — all the big services they have improved.
“So I think the need for us is significant. Our road budget is roughly $8 million a year that comes from a variety of sources. … all pieced together … but our road needs — to get back to having our roads in a condition where we are doing routine maintenance and have the ability to get proactive on a list of road projects, is estimated at $15 to $20 million per year. So we have roughly half the needed road budget.”
Mayor Serratto said city parks is another area with “big needs” including the new Community Park 42 in southeast Merced, requested improvements at Fahrens Park, and the development of vacant park land in the Bellevue Ranch area.
“What Measure B would do is create more opportunities to do more special projects all over town. Really build up the city and make it special. … It would allow us to be more competitive in winning state and federal grants, and this would allow us to be even more strategic and more sustainable.”
He said Measure B would also be essential toward cementing progress already made within the Merced Fire Department.
“I think you can say we’re delivering the best fire services the city has ever seen because of the new paramedic program. Every fire company has advanced life support capability. We have a squadron with firefighters who are all paramedics. They respond to about 14,000 calls a year, and 10,000 of those are medical calls. But we have state grant funding that’s ending for some of our Fire Department staffing, and we have a huge need to update equipment and vehicles. We are also trying to build the new Station 56 in north Merced at Bellevue, and we need to be able to staff that station. So yes, Measure B could help keep the department growing.”
Earlier this year, the Merced City Council voted 6-1 to put Measure B on this year’s ballot. Councilman Fue Xiong cast the lone NO vote. He is also listed in the official argument against Measure B, which among other things, questions the need for another sales tax measure just two years after the Measure C public safety sales tax was extended to support police and fire.
Mayor Serratto explains that Measure C was an extension of an existing tax. It wasn’t really a new tax.
“Measure B is about ‘better’ and ‘bigger.’ It’s about expanding our services in a big way. Measure C was more about survival because the community was facing catastrophic cuts to both police and fire. Measure B is different. It’s about doing more with more.”
In this way, Serratto says the city’s Police Department does indeed stand to benefit from Measure B, especially as the demand for service increases with the population.
The mayor’s colleague, City Councilman Shane Smith, agrees completely.
“This is the first time in a generation that our Police Department and Fire Department have been fully funded,” Smith points out. “But the reality is, even with that, we’re talking about 2009 staffing levels, and what was the population in Merced back in 2009? How big was the UC in 2009? … Our police station is crumbling. We don’t have a fire station in the northwest part of town in District 6. So how can a small, emerging city like Merced kind of cobble together, all the things that we need? We need more resources to do it.”
Smith adds, “If people generally want us to be able to grow as a city, and keep up with all the commitments that we’ve all made with the UC now in town, then we need to work together to find some new resources. …
“Measure B is not about balancing the budget. We can balance the budget. We can make choices and take things away if we have to. It’s not something we want to do, but the reality is that the council has balanced the budget over the last two years by reducing the amount of money we’ve put into strategic reserves. And that’s not a way that we can keep budgeting going forward. The cost of insurance for cities continues to go up. State-mandated retirement benefits continue to get more costly. Costs continue to increase, and residents want us to do more.
“So how can we do more with fewer resources? Over time that just isn’t possible. So I think Measure B can be a game changer. It’s a way for us to meet the moment, and be one of the real jewels in the Central Valley — and break this cycle of disinvestment that we see up and down Highway 99.”
According to Mayor Serratto, if Measure B passes, there should be no excuses from the city’s leadership dais.
“We need to do our part to use the revenue for first-rate city services and investments,” he says. “The bottom line: Measure B is about building a more beautiful Merced. All the revenue stays local, and from our perspective, there’s no excuses. People need to hold us accountable. There’s going to be a ton of transparency.”