7.83.010 Special Tax.
A. A special tax for the purpose of funding firefighter and emergency medical response including, but not limited to, training, hiring, maintaining and upgrading facilities and equipment, upgrades to the 9-1-1 communication system, hazard mitigation, and wildfire prevention and preparedness activities is hereby authorized to be imposed on all improvements in the City of Berkeley as more fully set forth in this Chapter.
B. The City Council may impose the tax authorized by this Chapter at the rate and subject to the inflation adjustments, set forth in Section 7.83.020.
C. This special tax is imposed under Article XIIIA, Section 4, of the California Constitution and the City’s constitutional authority as a charter city under Article XI, Section 5 of the California Constitution.
D. The proceeds of the tax imposed by this Chapter shall be placed in a special fund to be used only for the purpose of enhancing public safety by funding the following:
1. Local firefighter and emergency medical response including hiring and training personnel and upgrading safety equipment and facilities.
2. Upgrading and modernizing the 9-1-1 dispatch system to implement and maintain a system to provide emergency medical dispatching.
3. Wildfire prevention and preparedness activities including, but not limited to, vegetation management, hazard mitigation, public education, evacuation planning, and an emergency alert system. (Ord. 7745-NS § 2, 2020)