After hearing polling results, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to put the breaks on an idea of putting a countywide sales tax on the November 2014 Ballot.
According to polling results which were presented Tuesday, it found just 54% support a ¼ cent sales tax with 41% rejecting it with 5% who do not know. Polling shows 49% approve a ½ sales tax while 44% reject it and 7% don’t know.
(Click to Enlarge Graphics)
Key Findings:
- Voters are optimistic over the direction of Contra Costa County.
- Passing a countywide sales tax measure would be challenging.
- A slim majority of voters (54%) support a ¼‐cent sales tax measure, while just under half (49%) support a ½‐cent measure.
- Funding for fire‐fighting, emergency medical, emergency response, public safety, and road repairs had the highest support.
EMC performed the polling and concluded that Approval of a countywide sales tax measure on the November 2014 ballot would be very challenging.
“According to the data, approval of the sales tax on the November Ballot would be very challenging., When we see results like this is it tells us we need to be looking at everything else going on because this is not the type of measure you just put on a ballot,” explained Tom Patras of EMC. “It’s the kind of measure that would require a lot of work and moving together. It would require a significant amount of money on the campaign side and ideally little or no funded opposition.”
The survey included 806 people and was conducted June 10-18.
The tax, which was being driven by helping fund Doctors Hospital, would have put a countywide sales tax on the ballot that would support public safety, emergency response, health care services, and other critical needs in Contra Costa County.
This idea for a Countywide Tax was pushed forward by Supervisor John Gioia after a May 6 parcel tax failure to help Doctors Hospital in West Contra Costa—it’s operating on an $18 million deficit and its in danger of closing.
To gain countywide support, Supervisor John Gioia began including other beneficiaries of a countywide tax such as the multiple fire districts in the county, emergency responses, law enforcement, libraries, and funding health care.
Supervisor John Gioia explained Tuesday that he believed that the county across the board needs more resources to effectively serve people from library services, to fire, to police.
“The reason we asked for this poll is because we wanted to explore voter’s willingness to fund more,” said Gioia. “We know Contra Costa is a tough county to get ballot measures passed.”
Supervisor Karen Mitchoff explained the polling was useful as it highlighted that need to better educate the public but also shared with the Supervisors what is important and what is not—an example used was those who use the library consider it very important, but overall it’s not a high priority countywide issue.
“We did spend money on a poll and it was money well spent,“ said Mitchoff. “Had the poll results come back more favorably I was in favor of moving forward because I want the public to have the right to vote on this.”
Supervisor Federal Glover called the polling useful with good information showing they have a lot of ways to go with public education.
“That margin is too narrow to go forward and that we continue to do what we started last week which is support the effort of Doctors Hospital to bring about a new model to keep that facility open in a different way but providing the services needed for that community and support a countywide system. I support that we do not want to move forward with a measure at this time because of the very narrow,” said Glover.
Supervisor Gioia explained that people such as the Taxpayers Association say the County is not headed in the right direction and that it’s important to look at the chart provided in the polling which says the general public feels the County is headed in the right direction.
“I wish we could be in a position to put the sales tax measure on the ballot because we need resources to improve services. Some of the same people who came up here today against new revenue who also say we need more law enforcement on the street, better emergency response times, you can’t do that with the existing resources we have,” explained Gioia. “That was the goal here, to look at what voter support would be. People want more services but they do not want to pay for more services.”
Gioia stated that one emergency room closing in the county will impact the others because we are a county of interest—that is why they looked at a Sales Tax to help keep Doctors Hospital and why the County advanced $6 million in a vote last week.
Supervisor Mary Piepho explained the County needs to do a better job at educating 45% of the county who either disagree that the county is headed in the right direction or do not know.
“I think this does tell us a number of different things such as 55% say we are headed in the right direction but it also says 45% are in the other direction on that opinion,” said Piepho.
Gioia interrupted stating that polling shows 25% disagree with the direction the county is headed.
Piepho interrupted Gioia asking if she could finish her comment.
“I can read the numbers, 25% say we are on the wrong track, 20% have no idea. So 45% is the number we should be focused on, not the 55% because that is who we need to educate. What we are doing, how we are doing it,” said Piepho. “We have a lot of work to do.”
Supervisor Mitchoff disagreed saying she would only focus on the 20% who “don’t know” versus worrying about the 25% who she says will not change their minds.
“There are those who I find in this job that are going to be opposed to anything. So I am going to focus my efforts on the 20% who don’t know,” said Mitchoff.
The Board took two actions after hearing the polling results.
The Board voted 3-2 (Andersen, Piepho voting no) to continue forward with legislation (AB 1324) sponsored by Nancy Skinner which would create an exemption (waiver) for higher sales tax than the current 9.5% cap should a countywide sales tax
The Board voted 5-0 to accept the results of the polling, but not move forward with a sales tax ballot measure.
The Cost of polling was $45,000.
3 comments
I just want to say thank you to ECT for doing real reporting. No where else is any of this information. Shame on other local media for not keeping the public informed. I also appreciate you including several slides. This is the best site for news.
This money was for Doctors Hospital under the disguise it was going to other county needs. I am glad the Supervisors voted 5-0 against it. The public was not going to be fooled on this.
The Board of Supervisors finally came to their senses not to punish the rest of the county to fund Doctors Hospital when their own city voted down a tax to fund the hospital. If they don’t want it, why would a voter in Brentwood want to fund such a hospital? I bet some of this money would have been used to pay down the unfunded liabilities created by the pensions.
Jill,
I agree with your summary of the situation-including the potential tax money being used for anything and everything. The way this tax was proposed would have put it into the general fund. In turn, money from the general fund can be used for anything at anytime.
Pensions are another story which most people are generally confused about (thanks to the times newspapers). They have creatively used a buzzword, “unfunded liabilities” which amongst other things is a oxymoron. (FWIW, All liabilities are unfunded, if they were funded they would not be a “liability”). The result is they have people talking about post retirement benefits aka; retirement, like they are the plague. Nothing could be farther from the truth. They have played on ordinary citizens through envy and jealousy tactics.
Consider this; if you have a traditional 30 year mortgage on your home, you too have an “unfunded liability”. I guess its not bad when it is in the form of your own personal property right? Imagine how public employees feel when the media and (anti) tax association are attacking their vested rights? How would you feel?
Putting it into context removes the demonization that has been purposely implanted in the public by a local media source and a certain taxpayers association.
The truth matters.
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