Ballot Arguments Against Measure B

Contra Costa County has a spending problem, not a revenue problem.

• Measure B’s forerunner was 2020’s Measure X, a 0.500% sales-tax increase with similar advertised purposes — back then, an urgent, COVID-time focus on healthcare and “life-saving services.” Now, allegedly, “lives will be lost” without Measure B.
• An Oct. 3, 2020 East Bay Times editorial said County Supervisors should “plan to make do with [Measure X’s] additional money; they shouldn’t expect support for an additional tax in the future.”
• Measure B now seeks that additional tax anyway, though Measure X, only 5 years into its 20-year run, already supplies $120 Million annually — not just the $81 Million they projected in 2020.
• Meanwhile, Measure X’s politically driven spending allocations (example: a $3.25 Million “Guaranteed Income Pilot” project) raise further doubts about the legitimacy of both Measure X and Measure B — also about “citizens oversight” reliability.
• Measure B’s authorizing ordinance, like Measure X’s, again exposes this new tax as “solely for general governmental purposes and not for specific purposes.” They could spend Measure B’s millions on whatever they consider “governmental” — as they’ve already been doing in Measure X’s first 5 of 20 years.
• Since 2020 (and Measure X), County salaries/benefits have risen 47.5%. Measure B could facilitate or directly bankroll more such increases.
• Measure B is an Affordability Tax. Added atop rising prices, Measure B is itself inflationary. It’s also regressive, disproportionately burdening our poorest, most vulnerable residents.

Instead of funding new pet projects and facilitating more compensation increases with Measure B, Contra Costa County should redirect Measure X’s millions to counterbalance any healthcare deficits that actually develop.

NO on B!

More information: StopMeasureB.com

The undersigned Argument Opponent(s) or Author(s) hereby state that such argument is true and correct to the best of their knowledge and belief.

Given Contra Costa County’s existing revenue riches — and many residents’ severe affordability burdens: At best, Measure B is premature.

Spending & Fiscal Facts

• 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× 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.

The Deficit Claims Don’t Add Up

• 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.com

The undersigned Argument Opponent(s) or Author(s) hereby state that such argument is true and correct to the best of their knowledge and belief.