VOTE411 Voter Guide

The Question:To help Contra Costa County address cuts in federal funding; support local services such as health care, supplemental food assistance, and other general county services; shall Contra Costa County adopt a five-eighths of one cent temporary general sales tax for 5 years, providing an estimated $150,000,000 annually, and subject to annual audits?Yes Votes Needed to Pass: 50% +1 (majority) of the total votes cast on the measure by eligible votersFull Text of Measure B: https://www.contracostavote.gov/m9010-en/ or Voter Information Guide mailed to each voterCOUNTY COUNSEL’S IMPARTIAL ANALYSISThe Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors has proposed a measure asking voters to approve a countywide retail transactions and use tax – a sales tax – of five-eighths of one percent (0.625%) to be used for general governmental purposes of Contra Costa County. The sales tax would be collected for five years.Contra Costa County anticipates that this sales tax could generate approximately $150 million annually. Sales tax proceeds would be deposited into Contra Costa County’s general fund, and the Board of Supervisors would determine how to use the funds. The ballot measure states that the purpose of the proposed tax is “[t]o help Contra Costa County address deep cuts in federal funding” and indicates that sales tax revenue could be used for health care, supplemental food assistance, and other general county services. This measure does not restrict the use of sales tax revenue to these or any other specific governmental purposes.The sales tax proposed by this measure will be collected on the gross receipts of sales of personal property in unincorporated Contra Costa County, and in incorporated cities within the county. The sales tax will not be collected on the sale of food or on other transactions that are exempt from the sales tax under state law.This Contra Costa County sales tax would be levied in addition to the current Contra Costa County sales tax of one-half of one percent (0.5%) that expires in 2041.This tax is a general tax, which requires approval of a majority of voters voting on the measure. In order for this tax to be collected, this measure must be approved by voters and legislation must be enacted to exempt this tax from the sales tax cap under Revenue and Taxation Code section 7251.1.The measure requires the Board of Supervisors to appoint a fiscal oversight committee of at least five members to review and report on revenues and expenditures of sales tax revenues. Additionally, the measure requires the County’s auditors to annually report on the collection, management, and expenditure of tax revenues.A “yes” vote is a vote in favor of authorizing this 0.625% sales tax within the County for five years.A “no” vote is a vote against authorizing this 0.625% sales tax.The above statement is an impartial analysis of Measure B. If you desire a copy of the measure, please call the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors at (925) 655-2000, or email the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors at clerkoftheboard@cob.cccounty.us, and a copy will be mailed at no cost to you.Supporters Say:Measure B won’t increase the cost of groceries. It could save your life.If Measure B fails, emergency response times will increase. Since brain damage can occur after just three minutes without oxygen, stroke and heart attack victims could be at risk. Wait times for all patients receiving critical care will increase at every hospital in the County.If we don’t act, lives will be lost.The federal government is cutting billions from healthcare. In Contra Costa County, these cuts will impact everyone. Up to 90,000 people will lose health insurance, and according to the county health director, our health system will lose more than $1.5 billion over the next five years.Measure B will keep the Contra Costa County Medical Center open and functioning. It will also allow the county to maintain crucial physical and mental health care that keeps people out of emergency rooms. This will save lives and, in the long run, save taxpayers money.Doctors and other health professionals are developing programs and taking steps to address the most significant issues created by the federal government’s budget cuts. Measure B will give them time to put these measures in place.Measure B is a temporary tax; the Board of Supervisors cannot renew it, and it will be in effect for only 5 years. It exempts food, housing, and medical care, so most of the money from this tax will come from corporate or large luxury purchases. It will not raise your grocery bill, your rent, or the cost of your prescriptions.Join us in support of Measure B. The lives that are saved might be yours or your loved ones’.Supporters include: John Gioia, County Supervisor; Sergio Urcuyo, MD, Chief Medical Officer Contra Costa Regional Medical Center & Clinics; Collin O’Neil, Vice President, United Professional Firefighters of Contra Costa County, Local 1230; California Nurses Association, Puneet Maharaj, Executive Director; Contra Costa Labor Council-AFL-CIO, Kelly Kick, PresidentOpponents Say:Given Contra Costa County’s existing revenue riches — and many residents’ severe affordability burdens:At best, Measure B Is premature.Since Measure X’s 0.500% sales-tax increase passed in 2020, total County spending has risen from $4.51 Billion (FY20-21) to $7.37 Billion (FY25-26) — a 63.4% increase.That’s 3½ x the 18.4% Bay Area CPI inflation rate (Dec. 2020 to Dec. 2025), while population growth was flat.The State Controller’s Office shows 2024 total Contra Costa County compensation exceeding $200,000 each for 3,041 employees. 1,005 exceeded $300,000; 252 exceeded $400,000.County Supervisors initially justified Measure B’s five-eighths percent (0.625%) sales-tax increase scheme (extracting at least $750 Million over five years) as partial makeup for allegedly annual $307 Million healthcare-funding deficiencies, FY25-26 through FY28-29.After we showed that $307 Million was actually their analyst’s cumulative estimate for those fiscal years, the analyst introduced new state/federal funding-loss estimates, totaling $219 Million instead (with only a net $35 Million “Estimated Ending Fund Balance” deficiency), by FY28-29!Most of their “$1 billion” projected deficit is a $596 Million total for FY29-30/FY30-31 — in a new Presidential administration, two Congressional sessions from now. Funding will likely improve.But they want to bake in 5-year Measure B revenues of $150 Million annually anyway (likely going much higher, given Measure X’s 50% revenue growth in first 5 of 20 years).Sales taxes are too high already.California’s statewide 7.25% sales-tax base rate is the nation’s highest. Counties, cities, and special districts can seek local additions, with a statutory 2.00% cap, total = 9.25%.Unfortunately, lobbyists and on-call politicians have contrived larger add-ons — violating the 2.00% cap — while falsely proclaiming these abuses “declaratory of existing law.”Thereby, ten Contra Costa County cities already exceed the statutory 9.25% sales-tax limit. Measure B would take all ten above 10%.Vote No on B! More information: StopMeasureB.comOpponents include: Contra Costa Taxpayers Assn ., Denise P. Kalm, President Pro-Tem; Michael Arata, Executive Board Member, Contra Costa Taxpayers Association; Charles Barberini, Real Estate Broker, Martinez; Denise Gianni, Homemaker, El Sobrante; Andrew Rodgers, MD, Primary Care Physician, Retired, Danville