Pasadena Cannot Tax Its Way to Recovery

Pasadena’s firefighters and paramedics deserve safe stations, reliable equipment and the resources to protect our community. We believe the City should make those needs a priority with the substantial taxes residents and businesses already pay. Measure PFD would add another recurring expense for households and employers while risking Pasadena’s appeal to businesses considering a move here. We urge voters to reject it on November 3.

Commercial property owners and tenants are still navigating the lasting disruption of COVID, the fallout from the Eaton fire, soaring insurance premiums, and persistent inflation. Measure PFD would add another property tax burden to a community already stretched thin. Higher property costs reach beyond owners—they put pressure on the businesses, tenants, and residents who keep Pasadena thriving. This is a time to help our community regain its footing, not make it more expensive to stay.

Another Bill for Families Working to Stay

Measure PFD would impose an annual tax of 19 cents per square foot of improved property for 14 years, raising an estimated $22.1 million annually. A nonexempt 2,000-square-foot home would owe another $380 a year, or $5,320 over the measure’s life if its taxable square footage stays the same.

For young families already juggling a mortgage, childcare and groceries, that is another bill competing with everyday needs. Pasadena is an expensive place to put down roots. Families working hard to stay here deserve careful consideration before City Hall adds to their housing costs for the next 14 years.

A Tax that Erodes Pasadena’s Business Advantage

Pasadena has cultivated a reputation as a more welcoming place to do business than Los Angeles. The City itself promotes its competitive business license rates and absence of a gross receipts tax. Building Owners and Managers Association, Greater Los Angeles (BOMA/GLA) members have expressed concern that a new tax on commercial space would erode that advantage. Companies have choices as they reassess their offices in Los Angeles and across the region. Pasadena should be competing for businesses seeking a new home. Those workers support nearby shops and restaurants. Measure PFD risks making Pasadena easier to cross off a relocation shortlist, costing our community opportunities for jobs and investment.

The cost is concrete: a taxable 100,000-square-foot building would owe $19,000 annually, including when space sits vacant. Depending on their leases, businesses could bear some of that expense. Higher occupancy costs can leave less money for employees and improvements, while making it harder to attract tenants to empty space.

Fund Fire Safety with the Taxes We Already Pay

Pasadena voters have already approved additional taxes that City leaders tied to fire-service needs. In 2018, they passed Measure I, a three-quarter-cent general sales tax increase. The City’s 2018 annual report said the new revenue would help maintain essential municipal services and address capital needs, including fire-station upgrades or replacement and outdated 911 communications equipment.

The City’s fiscal 2026 budget book reports $32.2 million in Measure I revenue, with $10.7 million provided to Pasadena Unified School District under companion Measure J. That left approximately $21.5 million for City services. Councilmember Steve Madison suggested tapping Measure I for the fire plan last year.  Residents also deserve a project-by-project explanation of how the City’s share has supported the fire-station and equipment needs identified when the tax passed.

Pasadena’s adopted fiscal 2027 budget totals approximately $1.42 billion, including about $81 million for the Fire Department. The $22.1 million Measure PFD seeks annually equals roughly 1.6 percent of that overall budget. That total includes utilities and restricted funds, so it is not all available for fire protection. Even with those limits and the City’s budget pressures, the Council should put essential fire improvements ahead of less urgent spending and make every effort to fund them with existing revenues before adding another tax.

The Eaton Fire reinforced the importance of preparedness and effective emergency response. Residents deserve a plan showing what earlier funding accomplished, what remains unfunded and what could advance through grants, phased construction or changes in spending priorities.

Pasadena can support its firefighters while protecting the ability of families to stay and employers to invest here. On November 3, vote no on Measure PFD and ask the City Council to make fire safety a priority with the tax dollars we already provide.