By Tony Hicks –
The Contra Costa Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will decide whether to approve a spending plan for the county’s Measure X sales tax revenue, which is projected to be more than $238 million through the end of fiscal 2022-2023.
County staff is also recommending withholding 25 percent in a funding reserve in case unforeseen circumstances prompt a drop in county sales tax revenue.
The board will also consider a $20,000 request for a formally-written report on its spending plan.
Measure X is a half-cent sales tax approved by county voters in 2020. The funds started accruing in April, 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.”
The 17-member advisory board (with 10 alternates) met 25 times this year. It received more than $350 million in funding requests. After hearing supervisors weigh in at the board’s Oct. 12 meeting, the commission is recommending five general priorities: mental well-being, equity in action, healthy communities, intergenerational thriving, and providing a welcoming and safe community.
More specific recommendations for immediate, one-time funding includes $30 million to add 40,000 square feet of space to Contra Costa County Regional Medical Center’s clinic and office space, plus another $15 million for a new parking structure. The county would also receive $25 million for a new public health laboratory.
Reopening East County fire stations is a priority, with a $17.2 million recommended allotment. Ten million would go to youth centers in east and central counties. Five million in one-time funding would go toward 3,000 square feet of expansion of the county’s psychiatric emergency services building, and another $5 million toward Contra Costa’s community crisis initiative.
During the first year of ongoing Measure X funding (April 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023) $40 million would go to Contra Costa Regional Medical Center and $10 million for the local housing trust fund, including funding for homeless housing and services. Other priorities would include $6 million toward first responder patrols, $4.5 million for wildfire mitigation, $3.5 million to re-open and staff county fire stations, and $2.5 million for climate sustainability projects.
The advisory board recommends that ongoing funding be allocated in three-to-five-year periods, to sustain ongoing needs in the community.
The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors meets at 9 a.m. Tuesday, and can be accessed at https://ems8.intellor.com/join/k2VbS7IBIo and at www.contracosta.ca.gov.
So they will pay $20 K to someone to write out a suggestion list? Something they or their staff should do? Well, now we know where it will all go. Certainly not anything useful for all the people who blindly voted for this.
Measure X is a gift to illegal aliens. They just didn’t come out and say what it really is. And the people of Contra Costa fell for it, as always.
Te county asked for the Measure X sales tax revenue because the needed it. Now they don’t know how to spend it. It appears they didn’t really need it because they don’t know where to spend it.
There’s no way in hell the majority of citizen voted and passed a sales tax increase. That is a lie and is crooket as they come. Try living in Concord. They (not the citizens) passed an increase for City of Concord on top of the County. Concord has a 9.75% sales tax. If you can shop someplace else, don’t shop Concord. That’s just as bad as Concord City Council being paid off and gave the Naval Weapon Station property development to Siino. Wrong Wrong Wrong!!!
Voted down in March, approved in November? I seriously doubt it!
… five general priorities: mental well-being, equity in action, healthy communities, intergenerational thriving, and providing a welcoming and safe community.
Of those five I could probably create a definition of ‘healthy communities’ type initiatives. But the others, no. ‘equity in action’, ‘welcoming and safe community’. Maybe more police and penalties for not following laws?
They spend $476 million and want more of our tax dollars.
Now that our votes no longer mean anything, there’s no recourse for the continued raping of the American taxpayer.
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CA majority (Dem) voters are blabbering idiots.
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Let’s spend $17.6 million to reopen East County Fire stations because the people living there voted down tax increases on themselves THREE times. So the rest of the taxpayers are supposed to pay for them?!? In the meantime closed fire stations in Walnut Creek and Martinez are still closed but the taxpayers there are supposed to pay for East County?? Until the closed stations in Central County are reopened, and before anything in East County,
nothing should be done for those who expect others to pay their way.
Good idea to save the reasons why the entity said we need a new or extended tax and what the entity (county, in this case) say they planned to do with the influx of millions and what they are doing with it.
In the present scenario, I don’t see any money for homeless help which is one of the primary jobs of the county.