Board Advances Sales Tax for June Ballot as Federal Cuts Loom

The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors met Feb. 10 with a single, urgent throughline: the financial fallout from HR1's federal funding cuts is already reshaping county services, and the Board is racing to put a partial backstop before voters this summer. The five supervisors unanimously introduced a 0.625% general sales tax ordinance aimed at the June 2026 ballot — then spent the balance of the afternoon hearing from dozens of health care workers pleading to save their jobs in the very programs the tax is meant to protect.

• Board unanimously introduces five-year sales tax to partially offset an estimated $307 million annual loss from HR1 federal cuts; adoption vote set for March 3

• Over 30 health workers and union representatives flood public comment opposing layoffs in the county's Enhanced Care Management program, warning patients will die

• Sheriff reports zero in-custody deaths in 2025 and declining fentanyl fatalities; only 118 of 724 ICE notification requests resulted in compliance under SB54

• Urban Limit Line ballot argument approved unanimously, continuing the county's 36-year growth management policy

• Head Start hits 99% enrollment, with Early Head Start on track to shed its federal "chronically under-enrolled" designation

• Eligibility workers honored as HR1 threatens to double their Medi-Cal re-enrollment workload without additional funding