The Union City City Council met last evening to hash out the wording for the official argument in favor of the city’s proposed parcel tax extension and enhancement.

The existing tax, known as Measure K, generates $2.7 million annually to fund public-safety services. But with the tax set to expire in April, city officials will place a new measure on the November ballot, asking voters to extend the tax by eight years while also increasing the tax rate to generate an extra $500,000 a year to fund youth services, such as gang prevention and intervention programs.

Click on the links below to read the following, parts of which will appear in the voters’ handbook:

* Resolution and ordinance for a new measure (the ordinance is the full text of the measure).

* City attorney’s analysis

* Argument in favor of the measure

Although no one submitted arguments against the measure by today’s deadline, that’s not to say there aren’t voters opposed to the tax. In fact, a similar proposal was defeated in June. (The latest proposal shortens the length of the tax and decreases the tax rate from what was proposed in June.)

UPDATE: City managers in Newark and Union City say that that the possible fire department merger is geared more toward providing better service, not reducing costs.

I’ll have a full-length story on this in tomorrow’s paper. Union City’s council is being asked to approve a study on combining its fire department with Newark’s. Both cities have some budget issues and this would them help save money.

Union City, you may remember, had contracted out its fire services to Fremont several years back, but then reclaimed its department when its finances improved. Fremont was furious because it had put a lot of resources into serving both cities only to have Union City pull the plug before its contract expired. At the time, then-Union City Manager Mark Lewis said Union City could provide fire services for less than what Fremont would charge it. He was wrong, and the divorce is still a touchy subject for both cities.