The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors this week voted to place a sales tax on the ballot for the upcoming June election that they said is needed to backfill recent federal funding cuts.
The board voted 4-1 Tuesday to place the sales tax of five-eighths of a cent per dollar for five years on the June 2 ballot. If a majority of the county’s voters approve the measure, it is estimated to generate about $150 million annually.
Supervisor Candace Andersen was the lone no vote and opened the discussion about the measure Tuesday by saying the county had been mistaken in the resolution on the board’s agenda.
The resolution said that Contra Costa County would see annual deficits of more than $300 million through 2029 from federal cuts, but Andersen pointed out that the $300 million figure was cumulative across those years, not an annual number.
“I am advocating that we slow this process down,” she said. “We need to take a step back to make sure we’re putting accurate information out there.”
Contra Costa Health Director Dr. Grant Colfax acknowledged the error in the county document but said the federal cuts to Medicaid and other programs passed by the Republican Congress last year and signed by President Donald Trump will lead to strained health care systems across the county, with more emergency room visits and longer wait times for patients.
“Lives are at risk and our entire health care system is at risk,” Colfax said.
County staff said their projections show a cumulative deficit of more than $1 billion by 2031, and Supervisor John Gioia said, “There is no doubt that the impacts on our health system and the public go beyond even your projections.”
Legal hurdle raised
During the public comment period on the item at Tuesday’s meeting, attorney Jason Bezis was among the speakers and said he has clients, including someone from the Libertarian Party of Contra Costa County, who were prepared to sue if the board put the measure on the ballot.
“This is not ready to go on the ballot,” Bezis said. “This meeting ought to be continued.”
Before the supervisors made their votes, Andersen reiterated her opposition to moving forward and said mayors of cities in Contra Costa County are upset with the board for putting a measure on the ballot after voters already recently approved a half-cent sales tax as Measure X in 2020.
The county would also need approval from the state Legislature to raise a sales tax cap — state law caps the total combined tax rate in a county at 2% unless granted exceptions by the Legislature — for the measure to go into effect.
“I am still going to advocate for slowing this process down, and working toward a future sales tax measure,” Andersen said.
The other supervisors voted to move ahead though, so the measure will go on the June 2 ballot when county voters will also decide congressional and statehouse primary elections as well as other local races and measures.