San Francisco voters will decide in November whether to approve a new parcel tax on property owners aimed at helping close Muni's budget deficit and avoid service cuts.The Stronger Muni For All campaign announced Tuesday that it had submitted enough valid signatures to qualify the measure for the ba llot, as KQED reports. If approved, most single-family homeowners would pay roughly $129 annually, while larger residential and commercial properties would pay higher amounts based on size and use.According to Bay City News, supporters estimate the tax would generate about $160 million a year over 15 years, with the vast majority of the money going toward closing Muni's growing budget shortfall and a smaller portion earmarked for service improvements. The tax would begin in the 2027-28 fiscal year and would increase annually with inflation.The measure follows a series of efforts to close Muni's looming $300 million budget gap, and it's reportedly drawn support from Mayor Daniel Lurie, eight members of the Board of Supervisors, labor unions, transit advocates, and state lawmakers including Catherine Stefani, Matt Haney, and Scott Wiener. Campaign finance filings also show major contributions from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Ripple Labs.Though backed by many of the city's political leaders, the proposal is being advanced as a citizen-led initiative rather than a government-sponsored measure, as Bay City News reports. This allows the measure to pass with a simple majority under current state law instead of the two-thirds threshold required for special taxes placed on the ballot by local governments.Muni's future also hinges in part on the proposed Connect Bay Area Act, a separate regional sales tax measure appearing on November's ballot, which would generate an estimated $1 billion annually for BART, Muni, Caltrain, AC Transit, and other transit agencies across the Bay Area.As SFist previously reported, the agency received a portion of a $590 million state loan package for Bay Area transit agencies earlier this year, while the recently approved SFMTA budget also included modest Muni fare increases and higher parking fines to help boost revenue.Transit officials have reportedly warned that if new funding sources fail to materialize, the agency could be forced to eliminate up to 20 routes, cut evening service by as much as 60%, reduce or eliminate cable car service, and significantly increase wait times on some lines.Related: $590M In State Loan Funds Come Through For Struggling BART and Muni SystemsImage: Jasperdo/Flickr ...read more read less