By Tony Hicks – The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors unanimously accepted the Measure X initial assessment, but asked for more specifications before allocating $20,000 for a formally-written report.
Supervisors asked the advisory board to report again at the supervisors’ Nov. 2 meeting, when they would again formally consider the $20,000 request.
“Let’s take this body of work and help us move forward without having to go through it again,” said District 4 supervisor Karen Mitchoff.
Measure X is a half-cent sales tax that was approved by county voters in 2020. The money started accruing in April, the same month the county’s advisory board began meeting.
The stated purpose of Measure X was to keep “Contra Costa’s regional hospital open and staffed, fund community health centers, provide timely fore and emergency response, support critical safety-net services, invest in early childhood services, protect vulnerable populations and for other essential services.”
The 17-member advisory board (with 10 alternates) has met more than two dozen times the past six months.
Its first report back to supervisors recommended five funding priorities for Measure X funds in fiscal 2021-22.
The first goal is “mental well-being,” providing grants for childhood mental health services, substance abuse treatment, greater mental health services for the Asian American Pacific Islander community and the LGBTQ community, and more medical response to mental health crisis.
The second goal prioritizes equity and removing barriers causing poverty, with a county office of racial equity and social justice being a major component. It also includes more representation for immigrant residents, more community and school-based arts programs, an innovation fund to facilitate service needs, and asylum support for LGBTQ individuals and immigrants.
The third goal is “Healthy Communities,” including comprehensive health care for the uninsured, a local housing trust fund for tenant legal services and subsidized child care, and community-based food distribution and employment training.
The fourth goal is “Intergenerational Thriving,” which includes strategies for increased service for children with disabilities and more community-based youth and aging centers. The plan will also introduce a guaranteed income pilot program, a master plan on aging and more funding for Child Protective Services and foster youth.
The fifth goal is titled “Welcoming & Safe Community,” which will fund the re-opening of closed East County fire stations and create public defender front-end advocacy teams. It will also provide more money for abuse prevention and support, rental assistance for immigrants and create a “Reimagine Public Safety” initiative.
Additionally, supervisors mentioned other areas of need like code enforcement, increased senior transportation services, more funding for animal services, youth centers and transitional housing for the homeless.
20 comments
Here they go again pissing away more money. I voted No on this myself and made my vote count ( at least I think so )
Well here is idea: how about refunding some of the overage to the taxpayers.? I never would have voted to give money to” public defender front end advocacy teams”,whatever the hell that is.
I hope people remember the bait and switch to raise taxes scam.
A “yes” vote supported authorizing an additional sales tax of 0.5% for 20 years generating an estimated $81 million per year for essential services including the regional hospital, community health centers, emergency response, safety-net services, early childhood services and protection of vulnerable populations, thereby increasing the total sales tax rate in Contra Costa County from 8.25% to 8.75%
so first on the list to get votes
essential services …hospitals…ok….community centers…ok
emergency reponse….ok…..
dont know what a safety net service is can a democrat please explain
hmmm early childhood services …again can a dem please explain
protection of vulnerable populations…again need a dem to explain
now the focus and direction and first agenda of the directed panel of tools of the democrats
“Let’s take this body of work and help us move forward without having to go through it again,” said District 4 supervisor Karen Mitchoff.
which is what benedict hoff
The first goal is “mental well-being,” providing grants for childhood mental health services, substance abuse treatment, greater mental health services for the Asian American Pacific Islander community and the LGBTQ community, and more medical response to mental health crisis.
so the hoff and her cronies again boondoggled us so they could
of course throw money at their agendas …
the state is burning and has no power or water and hoff says
let the dem bias unfold and spend the money on things that we all ready have a budget for and pay for
nuff said abolish the tax it serves no purpose but to funnel our money to dem backers
You are 100% accurate! Regardless that it is Mitchoff, it is still a boondoggle tax and it DOES NOT support what is really needed! LGBTQ and mental health well-being is a joke!
Mental health teams dispatched to defuse a hot, combative situation will probably be dispatched!!
WHAT A JOKE!!
Who ARE the morons that vote for this insanity? Whoever you are, just know that you truly are kooks, and paints a clear picture of what made this once pretty cool state a uniparty s-hole.
Agree with you 100%.
For all you stupid people out there that voted yes on this may your bank accounts be drained to zero.Morons!
I voted “NO” but my bank account and saving will still be drained!!
How about the law abiding over taxed citizens wish list. We are treated like we are idiots and an ATM constantly.
Vote all of these fools out of office and get people in with common sense who do not pander to just get votes so they are kept in office.
Wake up folks.
+1
In the interest of tax paying citizen’s mental health: Use this money to put a stop to “systemic woke buzzwords”.
I can’t remember the last time there was a story like this and I thought, hey, that’s great I would benefit from that. Instead, my thoughts are there goes my tax money. I had one small glimmer of hope thinking maybe the arts program mentioned would be nice, but I looked it up on the CCC website and its just social justice indoctrination. Their actual words are:
“In a time of a historical pandemic, calls for racial equity and social justice highlight the need to recalibrate our focus, shift strategies and invest in projects that will have more direct impact on our diverse communities. Requests for district art projects along with Contra Costa County government and community organization collaborations have increased.”
So the first use of Measure X money is to spend $20k on this report that sets 4 general goals.
A “yes” vote supported authorizing an additional sales tax of 0.5% for 20 years generating an estimated $81 million per year for essential services including the regional hospital, community health centers, emergency response, safety-net services, early childhood services and protection of vulnerable populations, thereby increasing the total sales tax rate in Contra Costa County from 8.25% to 8.75%.
Passed with 58%
Seems like enough wasteful things in the bill. Maybe they should say how much they are spending on each project and what the money is doing.
Where Contra Costa County Supervisors are concerned, I’d say taxpayers are the “vulnerable population.”
Not measure PG13, or even measure R.
But measure X for full fiscal obscenity
This is a bit of a bait and switch. We voted for a tax that was supposed to help the County Hospital and health services, but is being used as a slush fund.
Lengthy word salad meaning “waste of tax payer funds”.
sounds like a normal tax increase, in that they dont care what we voted for, but will use it however they want. Typically to fund illegals healthcare…..
This was voted down the first time around in March 2020 when it was a Transportation Measure. It passed in November 2020, reworked as a Health and Human Services Measure which was simply not needed, and opposed by the Contra Costa Taxpayers Association. Hard to believe it was opposed in March as Transportion, but regurgitated as a HHS Measure, it passed. Pretty clear it was duplicitous and passed with pretense.
https://www.cocotax.org/resources/Documents/No%20on%20Measure%20X.pdf
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