CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, Calif. -- The Concord and Antioch city councils each unanimously passed resolutions Tuesday night to place proposals on the November ballot that would increase sales taxes by .5 percent as a way to close their budget deficits.

If a majority of voters in each city support the measures, sales tax will be raised to 9.75 percent, or an additional 50 cents for every $100 of taxable purchases.

Items such as groceries, prescription medications and utility bills would not be subject to the tax, according to Concord City Manager Dan Keen.

Antioch's tax would expire in eight years and Concord's in five years. Both require a majority plus one vote to pass.

On July 19, the El Cerrito City Council also passed a similar resolution. El Cerrito's tax, which would expire in seven years, would bring that city's sales tax to 10 percent, the highest sales tax in Contra Costa County.

Shoppers in Pinole, Richmond and El Cerrito already pay 9.75 percent, according to the California Board of Equalization. As of April 1, all other cities in the county now pay 9.25 percent.

In all three cities, the new tax would be used to fill existing budget deficits so that the cities could maintain their current service levels. The tax would not be used for special projects and would be subject to scrutiny from citizens oversight committees.

Perhaps most importantly, the tax would stay in each city where it was imposed. The state would not be able to take any of it.

According to Concord City Councilman Mark Peterson, the state has taken $33 million from Concord alone in the past decade, and the city has reduced its staff by 25 percent.

All three cities have said they have made all the budget cuts they can. If voters don't approve the new taxes, the city councils will have to start reducing their police forces.

Concord, which has a $13 million deficit, has already made $7.7 million in cuts, and its reserve funds are "dreadfully low," according to Keen. The city is hoping the sales tax increase will fill the remaining $5.3 million gap.

Antioch, which has been referred to as "ground zero" of the housing market collapse, has made about $13 million in cuts since the 2006-07 fiscal year but is still looking at a $4.5 million deficit.

"We've cut everything we can," Antioch Mayor Pro Tem Mary Rocha said. "The next thing to go is going to be public safety."

According to Keen, about 100 cities in California have a similar tax already on the books.