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Election Day is Tuesday, March 5, 2024 and by now most registered voters have received a ballot in the mail. If you haven’t received your ballot or need to register you can reach out to the Santa Cruz County Elections Department: https://votescount.santacruzcountyca.gov/ Disclosure: The Santa Cruz County Chamber does not endorse individual candidates for office at all levels (federal, state and local elected positions). The Chamber does take time to review ballot measures that can have an impact on the greater Santa Cruz County business community. In this election cycle, four measures appear on the March 5 ballot that the Chamber has reviewed through a very deliberate process. The Chamber has taken a support position on Measures K, L and N and an oppose position on Measure M. Here is a brief summary and reasons for the Chamber’s positions: Measure K — County of Santa Cruz Sales and Use Tax: The Chamber rarely supports a sales tax measure because of its progressive nature. However, in this instance many of the funds the County receives from the state and federal government are one-time revenue sources to address fires, floods, and landslides that have had a divesting impact on our local forests, washed out county roads and threatened homes and businesses. Since 2017, the County has experienced seven nationally declared disasters. The funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are last resort funds to reimburse local governments for expending local resources first before FEMA steps forward. Regrettably, FEMA resources are provided only for federally declared disasters all over the country. Their coffers are oversubscribed and they have a backlog of reimbursement payments for these disasters. According to the County Finance Department, the county is eligible for up to $67 million in FEMA funds dating back three years and it is unlikely the county will see those reimbursements soon. Measure K funds (if approved by county voters) remain local. Measure K would raise the sales tax from 9% to 9.5%. It is projected that the measure would raise approximately $10 million annually. Upon approval of placing the measure on the March 5 ballot, the County Board of Supervisors pledged to spend the tax revenue on housing, workforce retention, homeless services, climate resiliency, county parks, road repairs and infrastructure projects. The Chamber Board of Directors will hold the County Supervisors accountable to that pledge if voters approve the measure. Measure L - City of Santa Cruz Sales and Use Tax: The Santa Cruz City Council has placed Measure L on the ballot to ask the voters to approve a half-cent (0.5%) sales tax within the City. The proposed tax would add 5 cents to the price of an item that costs ten dollars, or 50 cents to the price of an item that costs $100. Because the Measure does not limit the use of tax revenue, it is a “general tax” that may be used for general city services, and not a “special tax” that restricts the use of funds to specific expenditures. Therefore, as explained in the ballot question, the City may use the funds for a variety of purposes, including but not limited to homelessness response and prevention programs, emergency homeless shelters, case management and services; cleaning up and restoring habitat damaged by homeless encampments; preventing pollution of local rivers, creeks, and streams; supporting local food programs; preparing for and preventing wildfires; maintaining and repairing streets and sidewalks; maintaining and improving neighborhood parks and beaches, and improved public safety measures and programs. Currently, the cumulative tax on retail sales in Santa Cruz is 9.25%, of which Santa Cruz’s share is 1.75%. The remainder primarily goes to the State of California, with a small percentage dedicated to county transportation funding and the Santa Cruz City-County Library System. After reviewing the proposed sales tax and understanding the City’s current financial status, like the County, many of the federal and state funds to address these issues are one-time resources. The Chamber Board of Directors will hold the City Council accountable if Measure L is approved by the voters. The funds would be used as noted in the City Attorney’s analysis. Measure M — City of Santa Cruz Housing for the People Initiative: Measure M, as written, is an attempt to set new ground rules for the City’s Municipal Code and would prohibit the City Council from amending the City’s General Plan or Zoning Ordinance in a way that increases allowable height limits or floor area ratios (FARs) for development projects in any zoning district without a prior vote of the people. The measure would also increase the City’s inclusionary housing requirements to at least 25% for developments with 30 or more units. The City staff report was written based on a Keyser Marston Associates analysis. KMA’s full analysis contains detailed explanations and evaluations leading to the staff recommendation. The City Council agreed. The Chamber has a very deliberate review process in which our Community Affairs Committee (CAC) considers a proposal, a project, or in this case, a ballot measure. The CAC heard presentations from both the Yes on Measure M and the No on Measure M representatives presenting their reasons for the Measure. There are a litany of reasons why the ballot measure is wrong for Santa Cruz. The potential long-term negative fiscal impacts on the City stand out as a significant concern. Based on historical and recent trends, and considering state law compliance, it’s expected on average, the measure would require at least one election or vote of the people per year. This estimate doesn’t even factor in any extra proactive initiatives the City might undertake, like those outlined in the Housing Element, that could trigger more votes of the people. The current cost of an election is estimated to be in the range of $115,000 to $185,000 based on figures from the Santa Cruz County Elections Department. The Chamber’s Community Affairs Committee made a recommendation to the Chamber Board of Directors to oppose it. The Board of Directors accepted the recommendation. The Chamber recommends a No vote on Measure M. Measure N — The Pajaro Valley Health District bond: Measure N if approved by the voters of the district would allow the Pajaro Valley Health Care District to issue $116 million in bonds to be financed by an annual property tax estimated to be levied at $24 per $100,000 of assessed property value per year through fiscal years 2056-57. The District aims to use the bond funds for property acquisition, maintenance, construction, and alterations, as well as for other limited purposes as stated in the law. The measure will appear on voters' ballots in the Pajaro Valley Health Care District. The district spans from Aptos to Las Lomas in Monterey County, with boundaries similar to the Pajaro Valley Unified School District. The measure needs more than two-thirds of the vote to be adopted. Watsonville Community Hospital faced closure after its private owners filed for bankruptcy in 2021. To keep the hospital operational, state lawmakers led by Senator John Laird and Assemblymember Robert Rivas, created the Pajaro Valley Health Care District in 2022. The state, Monterey and Santa Cruz counties and other donors provided the district $65 million to buy the hospital’s operation and begin running it as a nonprofit. In 2019, the hospital’s buildings and land were sold to Alabama-based Medical Properties Trust, which now charges the district $3 million in annual rent.After buying the hospital out of bankruptcy, the Health Care District ended 2022 with a $30 million deficit. In 2023, it was buoyed by a $8.3 million zero-interest state loan, and ended the year with a $7 million deficit. If approved by a two-thirds majority, Measure N will entail a comprehensive overhaul of Watsonville Community Hospital. This includes expanding and renovating the emergency room to enhance care and diminish wait times, upgrading imaging systems, acquiring the hospital property to save $3 million annually in rent, addressing aging infrastructure through repairs and upgrades, and modernizing services to lessen the necessity for patients to seek healthcare elsewhere. Ensuring access to healthcare is vital for Santa Cruz County and its surrounding areas. The addition of Watsonville Community Hospital is essential for residents in the area. Therefore, the Chamber strongly advocates for a Yes vote on Measure N.
Election Day is Tuesday, March 5, 2024 and by now most registered voters have received a ballot in the mail. If you haven’t received your ballot or need to register you can reach out to the Santa Cruz County Elections Department: https://votescount.santacruzcountyca.gov/
Disclosure: The Santa Cruz County Chamber does not endorse individual candidates for office at all levels (federal, state and local elected positions). The Chamber does take time to review ballot measures that can have an impact on the greater Santa Cruz County business community. In this election cycle, four measures appear on the March 5 ballot that the Chamber has reviewed through a very deliberate process. The Chamber has taken a support position on Measures K, L and N and an oppose position on Measure M. Here is a brief summary and reasons for the Chamber’s positions:
Measure K — County of Santa Cruz Sales and Use Tax: The Chamber rarely supports a sales tax measure because of its progressive nature. However, in this instance many of the funds the County receives from the state and federal government are one-time revenue sources to address fires, floods, and landslides that have had a divesting impact on our local forests, washed out county roads and threatened homes and businesses. Since 2017, the County has experienced seven nationally declared disasters. The funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are last resort funds to reimburse local governments for expending local resources first before FEMA steps forward. Regrettably, FEMA resources are provided only for federally declared disasters all over the country. Their coffers are oversubscribed and they have a backlog of reimbursement payments for these disasters. According to the County Finance Department, the county is eligible for up to $67 million in FEMA funds dating back three years and it is unlikely the county will see those reimbursements soon.
Measure K funds (if approved by county voters) remain local. Measure K would raise the sales tax from 9% to 9.5%. It is projected that the measure would raise approximately $10 million annually. Upon approval of placing the measure on the March 5 ballot, the County Board of Supervisors pledged to spend the tax revenue on housing, workforce retention, homeless services, climate resiliency, county parks, road repairs and infrastructure projects. The Chamber Board of Directors will hold the County Supervisors accountable to that pledge if voters approve the measure.
Measure L - City of Santa Cruz Sales and Use Tax: The Santa Cruz City Council has placed Measure L on the ballot to ask the voters to approve a half-cent (0.5%) sales tax within the City. The proposed tax would add 5 cents to the price of an item that costs ten dollars, or 50 cents to the price of an item that costs $100. Because the Measure does not limit the use of tax revenue, it is a “general tax” that may be used for general city services, and not a “special tax” that restricts the use of funds to specific expenditures. Therefore, as explained in the ballot question, the City may use the funds for a variety of purposes, including but not limited to homelessness response and prevention programs, emergency homeless shelters, case management and services; cleaning up and restoring habitat damaged by homeless encampments; preventing pollution of local rivers, creeks, and streams; supporting local food programs; preparing for and preventing wildfires; maintaining and repairing streets and sidewalks; maintaining and improving neighborhood parks and beaches, and improved public safety measures and programs.
Currently, the cumulative tax on retail sales in Santa Cruz is 9.25%, of which Santa Cruz’s share is 1.75%. The remainder primarily goes to the State of California, with a small percentage dedicated to county transportation funding and the Santa Cruz City-County Library System. After reviewing the proposed sales tax and understanding the City’s current financial status, like the County, many of the federal and state funds to address these issues are one-time resources. The Chamber Board of Directors will hold the City Council accountable if Measure L is approved by the voters. The funds would be used as noted in the City Attorney’s analysis.
Measure M — City of Santa Cruz Housing for the People Initiative: Measure M, as written, is an attempt to set new ground rules for the City’s Municipal Code and would prohibit the City Council from amending the City’s General Plan or Zoning Ordinance in a way that increases allowable height limits or floor area ratios (FARs) for development projects in any zoning district without a prior vote of the people. The measure would also increase the City’s inclusionary housing requirements to at least 25% for developments with 30 or more units. The City staff report was written based on a Keyser Marston Associates analysis. KMA’s full analysis contains detailed explanations and evaluations leading to the staff recommendation. The City Council agreed.
The Chamber has a very deliberate review process in which our Community Affairs Committee (CAC) considers a proposal, a project, or in this case, a ballot measure. The CAC heard presentations from both the Yes on Measure M and the No on Measure M representatives presenting their reasons for the Measure.
There are a litany of reasons why the ballot measure is wrong for Santa Cruz. The potential long-term negative fiscal impacts on the City stand out as a significant concern. Based on historical and recent trends, and considering state law compliance, it’s expected on average, the measure would require at least one election or vote of the people per year. This estimate doesn’t even factor in any extra proactive initiatives the City might undertake, like those outlined in the Housing Element, that could trigger more votes of the people. The current cost of an election is estimated to be in the range of $115,000 to $185,000 based on figures from the Santa Cruz County Elections Department. The Chamber’s Community Affairs Committee made a recommendation to the Chamber Board of Directors to oppose it. The Board of Directors accepted the recommendation. The Chamber recommends a No vote on Measure M.
Measure N — The Pajaro Valley Health District bond: Measure N if approved by the voters of the district would allow the Pajaro Valley Health Care District to issue $116 million in bonds to be financed by an annual property tax estimated to be levied at $24 per $100,000 of assessed property value per year through fiscal years 2056-57. The District aims to use the bond funds for property acquisition, maintenance, construction, and alterations, as well as for other limited purposes as stated in the law. The measure will appear on voters' ballots in the Pajaro Valley Health Care District. The district spans from Aptos to Las Lomas in Monterey County, with boundaries similar to the Pajaro Valley Unified School District. The measure needs more than two-thirds of the vote to be adopted.
Watsonville Community Hospital faced closure after its private owners filed for bankruptcy in 2021. To keep the hospital operational, state lawmakers led by Senator John Laird and Assemblymember Robert Rivas, created the Pajaro Valley Health Care District in 2022. The state, Monterey and Santa Cruz counties and other donors provided the district $65 million to buy the hospital’s operation and begin running it as a nonprofit. In 2019, the hospital’s buildings and land were sold to Alabama-based Medical Properties Trust, which now charges the district $3 million in annual rent.After buying the hospital out of bankruptcy, the Health Care District ended 2022 with a $30 million deficit. In 2023, it was buoyed by a $8.3 million zero-interest state loan, and ended the year with a $7 million deficit.
If approved by a two-thirds majority, Measure N will entail a comprehensive overhaul of Watsonville Community Hospital. This includes expanding and renovating the emergency room to enhance care and diminish wait times, upgrading imaging systems, acquiring the hospital property to save $3 million annually in rent, addressing aging infrastructure through repairs and upgrades, and modernizing services to lessen the necessity for patients to seek healthcare elsewhere. Ensuring access to healthcare is vital for Santa Cruz County and its surrounding areas. The addition of Watsonville Community Hospital is essential for residents in the area. Therefore, the Chamber strongly advocates for a Yes vote on Measure N.