Early childhood programs and county libraries were the biggest beneficiaries when the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors met this week and allocated an additional $15.56 million in Measure X funds.
Of that total, $8.8 million will be one-time expenditures, and $6.734 million in ongoing funds that are included in the 2022-23 county budget.
The unallocated funds come from projected reserve funds, the amounts of which were changed during the process of supervisors deciding where the first $71 million was going in November, with another $75 million going to county hospital capital projects in December.
Measure X is a half-cent sales tax approved by Contra Costa voters in 2020. The money began accruing in April 2021, when the county’s Measure X advisory board began meeting.
The ballot measure’s stated purpose was to keep “Contra Costa’s regional hospital open and staffed, fund community health centers, emergency response, support critical safety-net services, invest in early childhood services, protect vulnerable populations, and for other essential county services.”
Measure X sales tax revenue is projected to be more than $238 million through the end of fiscal 2022-23. The county is withholding 20 percent of the money in a reserve fund.
The new funding is aimed at the county’s goal of providing greater equity, healthier communities, better intergenerational thriving, and a safer community.
New one-time funding includes $4 million to county library building improvements and $3.75 million to deferred maintenance in county buildings and another $1 million toward refugee resettlement efforts. Another $50,000 will go toward the launch of a county library foundation.
More ongoing funding in the next budget includes $4 million to early childhood education and childcare, and $1.5 million to development of additional childcare providers, Another $450,000 will go to children with disabilities and childcare provider support. Libraries will receive another $200,000 for library literacy programs, while the county’s Family Navigators program — which helps families in need find the support programs they need — will receive $584,000.