Santa Clara County supervisors voted unanimously last week to ask voters to approve new sales taxes that would place half the county in the double-digits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The sales tax increase will be on the Nov. 4 ballot. If approved by voters, the countywide rate would rise to 9.75%. Under the plan, purchases made in San Jose and Milpitas, which impose additional city sales taxes, would be taxed at 10%. Campbell businesses would collect 10.5%\u2014the county\u2019s highest rate\u2014while Los Gatos consumers would pay 9.875%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The increase would add $187.50 to the price of a $30,000 car and $1.25 to a $200 non-exempt retail purchase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aug. 7 was the final day to add measures to that ballot, which will also include a special election for County Assessor. The measure requires only a simple majority of county voters to pass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
County officials said the higher taxes are needed to close a projected billion-dollar budget shortfall they attribute to the federal government\u2019s \u201cBig Beautiful Bill.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Board of Supervisors held a special meeting Aug. 7 after Metro Silicon Valley<\/em> reported that about 30% of the county\u2019s budget faces cuts to federal healthcare programs like Medicare and Medicaid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n County Executive James Williams projected that county revenue will decline by $1.3 billion by the 2029-30 fiscal year. He said the county could collect more than $330 million over five years from the proposed five-eighths-cent sales tax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n About 70% of the county\u2019s public healthcare system, which has expanded rapidly in recent years, is funded by Medicare and Medicaid. The county\u2019s 2025-26 budget grew by $1 billion over the FY 2024-25 budget, largely because of the County\u2019s $150 million acquisition in April of the 1000-employee Regional Medical Center<\/a> in East San Jose from HCA Healthcare.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2019, the county purchased<\/a> San Jose\u2019s O\u2019Connor Hospital<\/a>, along with St.\u202fLouise Regional Hospital in Gilroy and De\u202fPaul Health Center in Morgan Hill, for a combined $235 million in a bankruptcy sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHR1 has punched a huge hole in our safety net,\u201d Board President Otto Lee said. \u201cOur county operates four hospitals and dozens of clinics in addition to supporting community clinics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Williams said his office developed a three-pronged strategy to address the budget shortfall that includes expanding partnerships with state leaders, reorganizing services within the hospital system and securing voter approval of the sales tax measure<\/p>\n\n\n\n Williams said the approach is necessary to sustain service levels at the Valley Healthcare System, which operates 15 hospitals and clinics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese federal cuts could force the county to eliminate essential programs across every area that helps stabilize individuals and prevent homelessness\u2014even before it starts. We urge you to move forward with the proposed sales tax,\u201d said Destination: Home community outreach and education officer Esmeralda Virelas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe must explore any avenue for protecting these critical services,\u201d Virelas said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is very important to me that we make some kind of commitment today to our voters that we are going to make changes\u2014significant changes to how we do our finances,\u201d said District 5 Supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Williams said the supervisors would not discuss specific spending plans Aug. 7 but will begin budget deliberations for the 2026-27 fiscal year in October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the Bay Area, current sales tax rates range from a low of 8.625% in San Francisco to a high of 10.25% in Alameda County, where consumers in four cities\u2014Alameda, Albany, Newark, and San Leandro\u2014pay 10.75%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Across California, 65 cities currently have sales tax rates of 10% or higher\u201447 of them in Los Angeles County. If approved, the new Santa Clara County rate would match the current Los Angeles County rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Statewide, the city of Lancaster in Los Angeles County has the highest local sales tax rate at 11.25%, according to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It remains to be seen whether other counties, facing the same Trump budget cuts, will also be increasing taxes to avoid drastic cuts in services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Barry Holtzclaw contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Supervisors voted unanimously to ask voters to approve new sales taxes that would place half the county in the double-digits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14789,"featured_media":20183473,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_expiration-date-status":"","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[]},"categories":[1686],"tags":[20365],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\u2018Three-Pronged Approach\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n