Opponents of Pasadena's Measure PFD fire parcel tax launched their first television commercial and a campaign website on Thursday, Oct. 8.

The "No on PFD" ad, titled "Add It All Up," puts a dollar figure front and center: $304 a year for a typical 1,600-square-foot home, as Pasadena Now reported. The campaign's website, pfdno.com, contends that combined with other city and school measures approved since 2020, many households already face more than $1,700 in new annual taxes before the proposed fire charge. The campaign calls that a "campaign estimate" based on the median Pasadena home sales price but has not published a line-by-line breakdown.

"Public safety funding belongs at the top of the city's general fund, not on a new line of every homeowner's property tax bill," Sarah Moore, president of the Pasadena-Foothills Association of Realtors, said in the campaign's announcement.

Moore argued the tax unfairly targets property owners for a service that also protects renters, commuters, tourists and Rose Bowl crowds. She challenged the square-footage formula itself, noting that emergency medical calls make up the bulk of Fire Department responses. Moore cited more than 17,000 calls in 2021, including more than 13,000 medical calls.

Measure PFD would charge 19 cents per square foot of improved property and is projected to raise about $22.1 million a year for fire protection and emergency medical services. It needs two-thirds voter approval on Nov. 3.

The opposition's ad launch comes one day after the Pasadena City Council voted Wednesday, Oct. 7, to formally endorse the measure. Supporters include Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, the Pasadena Firefighters Association Local 809 and the United Nurses Associations of California. The "Yes" campaign began running digital ads in September.

On the same day the opposition ad dropped, Fire Chief Chad Augustin published a guest opinion in Pasadena Now making the case for the tax. Augustin wrote that Pasadena has fewer firefighters on duty than it did 75 years ago while 911 calls have increased tenfold. He said the measure would add 36 firefighters over 10 years and fund seismic upgrades to two stations that do not meet earthquake standards.

The opposition counts the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, the Pasadena Star-News editorial board and former Mayor Bill Paparian among its backers, according to a LAist voter guide. Writing in the Pasadena Star-News on Sept. 25, Paparian urged the council to prioritize station upgrades within the existing budget before asking voters for a new levy.

According to the city's published measure description, exemptions extend beyond low-income seniors to include very-low-income households, residents receiving senior or disability utility-tax exemptions and qualifying government, religious or community-service properties. Over 14 years, a 1,600-square-foot home would pay a cumulative $4,256 before any exemption, according to the opposition's website. A 20,000-square-foot apartment building would owe about $3,800 a year.

Voters will decide Nov. 3.