Contra Costa County considers sale tax ballot measure

The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors tonight will consider adding a sale tax measure to the ballot for June’s primary election.

If approved and placed on the ballot, the tax would be for at least a half-cent tax to be added for five years. It would be used to protect local services in the aftermath of severe federal budget cuts passed last year by Congress.

A document included in the agenda for tonight’s meeting says about 100-thousand Contra Costa County residents could lose health insurance coverage as a result of the “Big Beautiful Bill, “ among other benefits.

The proposed sales tax would annually generate between 122-million to 151-million dollars.Santa Clara County voters passed a similar measure last fall.

The county would also need approval by the legislature to raise the sale tax, which caps the combined sales tax in a county to two-percent.