See the dated update below for the reported milestone and timing.
Benicia voters will decide three city tax measures on November 3. Measure X would replace the city's business license tax with one based on gross receipts: businesses taking in $100,000 or less a year would be exempt, most others would pay $0.25 to $1.25 per $1,000 in receipts under a cap that starts at $1,500 and rises 10% a year to $25,000, and marine terminals would pay a separate, uncapped $3 per $100. Measure Y would make Benicia a charter city for one purpose, allowing Measure Z, a real property transfer tax of $4 to $8 per $1,000 of sale price, to take effect; Z applies only if voters pass both Y and Z. Homes built before 2027 that sell for under $2 million would be exempt; all commercial sales and sales of homes built from 2027 on would be taxed. The council placed X on the ballot 5–0 on July 21 and placed Y and Z 4–1 on July 21 and again on August 4 after revising the wording, with Council Member Largaespada voting no, according to council minutes (the August 4 minutes posted on the city site are still marked draft). Residents sued over the Y and Z wording; a Solano County judge found it was not misleading on August 19, the Vallejo Sun reported. First-year revenue for Measure X is unresolved: the city's July staff report and draft ballot question say about $592,000, while the approved July 21 minutes record the council changing the ballot figure to $1,612,000. We have not checked the final wording on the county ballot.
How we know (8 sources)
Dated source evidence; the project may have changed since then. An approval does not establish construction or an opening.
Summary
Resolution 26-77 orders Measure X, Benicia Business License Modernization, for the November 3, 2026 election: exemption at $100,000 or less in annual receipts, category rates of $0.25 to $1.25 per $1,000, a cap of $1,500 in year one rising 10% annually to $25,000, a separate Marine Terminal rate of $3 per $100, and a first-year estimate of approximately $592,000 in the draft ballot question.
Resolution - Place the Business License Tax Measure on the November 3 2026 Ballot (City Council, July 21, 2026, item 15.B)City of Benicia · Section 3, Ballot Question
Evidence dated: Jul 21, 2026 · Source checked: Oct 12, 2026
Primary city record. The $592,000 figure is the draft question as attached to the agenda; see the minutes row for the council amendment.
Summary
The July 21 staff report projects about $592,000 in first-year business license tax revenue under the new structure versus about $626,000 under the current one, with about 2,228 businesses paying less or becoming exempt and about 1,898 fully exempt.
Staff Report - Business License Tax Modernization (July 21, 2026)City of Benicia · Budget information; Discussion
Evidence dated: Jul 21, 2026 · Source checked: Oct 12, 2026
Staff projection, attributed. Not used in the summary beyond the $592,000 figure; retained for the revenue discrepancy.
Summary
Approved July 21, 2026 minutes (no draft watermark) record that Council approved changing the approximate first-year amount in the Measure X ballot question to $1,612,000 and adopted Resolution 26-77 as amended 5–0; adopted Resolutions 26-75 (limited charter, as amended) and 26-76 (RPTT) 4–1 with Council Member Largaespada voting no; and adopted Resolution 26-79 calling the November 3 election with Measures X, Y and Z.
Minutes of the Regular Meeting – City Council, July 21, 2026City of Benicia · Items 15.A, 15.B, 15.D
Evidence dated: Jul 21, 2026 · Source checked: Oct 12, 2026
Adopted minutes are the decision record. The $1,612,000 vs $592,000 difference is disclosed in the summary as unresolved; final printed ballot text not checked.
Summary
August 4, 2026 minutes (posted copy carries a DRAFT watermark) record adoption of Resolution 26-81 (limited charter, as amended) and 26-82 (RPTT) 4–1, Council Member Largaespada voting no, rescinding the July 21 resolutions after a resident objected to the ballot wording.
Minutes of the Regular Meeting – City Council, August 4, 2026 (DRAFT)City of Benicia · Item 15.A
Evidence dated: Aug 4, 2026 · Source checked: Oct 12, 2026
Draft minutes: the vote is recorded but the minutes were not yet approved in the posted copy as of October 12.
Summary
The August 4 staff report explains that the July 21 resolutions are rescinded and replaced with refined ballot language after a community member objected to the wording.
Staff Report - Limited Charter & RPTT (August 4, 2026)City of Benicia · Background
Evidence dated: Aug 4, 2026 · Source checked: Oct 12, 2026
Primary city record of why the wording changed.
Summary
The July 21 staff report sets the RPTT at $4 per $1,000 below $2,000,000, $6 from $2,000,000 to $9,999,999 and $8 at $10,000,000 and above; exempts residential properties built before January 1, 2027 that sell for under $2 million; taxes all commercial sales and all sales of residential properties built on or after January 1, 2027; and limits the charter solely to RPTT authority, keeping the council-manager form of government.
Staff Report - Proposed Limited Charter and RPTT Ballot Measures (July 21, 2026)City of Benicia · Page 2 (charter); page 3 rate table, read from the rendered page
Evidence dated: Jul 21, 2026 · Source checked: Oct 12, 2026
Rate table values copied from the rendered page, not the text layer.
Summary
The August 4 Measure Y resolution states the ballot question: a limited charter with a single purpose, allowing the Measure Z transfer tax to take effect if voters approve both Y and Z.
Resolution - Limited Charter Resolution with Ballot Question Language (August 4, 2026)City of Benicia · Measure Y ballot question
Evidence dated: Aug 4, 2026 · Source checked: Oct 12, 2026
Paraphrased, not quoted; the draft August 4 minutes record a different wording read aloud, so the final printed label should be checked against the county sample ballot.
Summary
Reported by Natalie Hanson, Vallejo Sun, "Judge rejects allegations that Benicia ballot measures are misleading," August 26, 2026: Solano County Superior Court Judge Wendy Getty denied residents' petition over the Measure Y and Z ballot language in an August 19 minute order.
Judge rejects allegations that Benicia ballot measures are misleadingVallejo Sun · Byline Natalie Hanson; published August 26, 2026
Evidence dated: Aug 26, 2026 · Source checked: Oct 12, 2026
Reporting relied on for the court outcome; court minute order not read directly. Credit beside the claim. The same reporter's August 11 article covers the July 28 filing.
