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City of San Ramon residents will have plenty of opportunities to check their wallet on Nov. 8 when two different local tax measures will be on the ballot.
The San Ramon Valley school board has put renewing its existing parcel tax on the November ballot after both it and a new parcel tax failed earlier this year. They were joined by the City Council that unanimously placed a 1-cent 10-year increase in the sales tax on the ballot. That would bring the sales tax to 9.75% in San Ramon.
Meanwhile, down Interstate 580 in Pleasanton, four members of the City Council put a ½-cent sales tax increase on the ballot for its residents. Because Pleasanton is in tax-loving Alameda County (think Oakland and Berzerkly) that would raise the local sales tax to 10.75%.
City staff in both cities cited falling revenues that created structural problems going forward. The San Ramon annual deficit is predicted to hit $22 million in 2028 and that’s after the council and staff sliced $8.1 million from the current year’s budget.
The number for Pleasanton is $13 million as revenue has shrunk. The two communities are vastly different from a revenue standpoint. Both have substantial property tax revenue that will continue to climb—particularly in San Ramon as Bishop Ranch remakes empty parking lots into high density residential and redevelops Chevron Park. Pleasanton is hoping for something similar if the four owners of the Stoneridge mall can come together and agree on a plan to revitalize that property.
Pleasanton also has several older business parks that only see property tax changes when a sale occurs, although, given the falling value for commercial real estate more reassessments are likely.
Pleasanton, unlike San Ramon, has several high-revenue car dealers. There’s none to my recollection in San Ramon.
San Ramon, unlike Pleasanton, is a relatively new city (three incorporated in the early 1980s, Dublin and Danville). It started out as a contract city outsourcing functions to private enterprise or other agencies (police by the sheriff’s dept.). Dublin pursued a similar path and still, like Danville, contracts with the county sheriff for police services. San Ramon brought its police dept. in-house a few years ago.
Pleasanton has its own staff for most functions as does Livermore.
To try and get some handle on per capita expenditures in each community, I divided the operating expenditures by the population.
Danville, with a population of 43,582, spends $1,057 per resident. San Ramon, with a much higher revenue and the demands of the business park, spends $1,731 (85,953) while Pleasanton is similar at $1,717 (79,871). Livemore, which hit budget hard times during the Great Recession, is at $1,664 (84,793). Dublin with its steadily growing revenue had a budget of $145 million for a population of 71,557 so expenditures were $2,030 per capita.
With the east side developing along with the redevelopment of the Dublin Boulevard edge of Camp Parks, the city’s revenue has continued to diversify and grow with major business users plus more residential and retail.
I’m hesitant to predict, but with all of the tax measures on the state ballot plus the locals and an anticipated heavier turnout because it’s a presidential year, proponents have their work cut out.
Newport Academy received numerous state citations before closing Pleasanton clinicsApril 28, 2026 6:00 am