Alameda County supervisors deciding if tax increase targeted for homelessness can be used elsewhere
In 2020, Alameda County voters thought they were approving a special tax to fight homelessness, but a judge says the county can use the hundreds of millions in sales tax dollars however it wants. Now, the Board of Supervisors is facing pressure to spend the money on what the voters intended.
"Measure W was supposed to address homelessness, and we're here today to make sure that the will of the voters is upheld," said Supervisor Nikki Fortunado Bas, as she joined a group of homeless activists Tuesday outside the county administration building in Oakland.
Measure W was a half-cent sales tax that, in virtually all of its campaign literature, sounded like funding to help with solutions to the homeless crisis. It barely passed with 50.09% of the vote and got held up in court, but the county continued to collect the tax.
Earlier this year, a judge ruled that it was, in fact, a general tax increase and could be spent on anything the county wanted. But that's not going over well with homeless advocates.
"Let's let this board know that they're out of line if they let this go another direction," said Rev. Arlington Tugwell, with Faith in Action, East Bay. "Let them know that we are the people that put that in place. Now we're asking them to do what they're supposed to do. We trusted them with it."
Tugwell is just one of many who are suspicious of statements from the county that the money could be used for something else. And he's not having it.
"We see you. We trusted you," he said. "We want you to honor that trust. And if it is a true rumor, then we want to kill it."
The Supervisors were meeting on Tuesday to discuss the use of the money, which over the years has grown to nearly $700 million. The mayors from all 14 cities in the county joined in a letter urging that all of that money go to homelessness services.
Outside the board chambers, the advocates offered their suggestions.
"Measure W was passed to end homelessness," said Mae Chan, with the Real People's Organizing Collective. "Investing 100% of Measure W funds in housing and care is a win-win for all of us."
"I'm proposing we dedicate 90% of Measure W funds towards homelessness solutions," said Fortunado Bas, "and the remaining 10% to critical safety net services, like food assistance, health care, and mental health care."
"Voters trusted us with Measure W because they wanted action on homelessness, action," said Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee. "And so, we urge the county to direct, we say 100%, of course, our supervisors [say] at least 90%"
However the supervisors decide to carve up the pie, those who voted for it - and those who have been paying for it - will be watching. Rev. Sophia DeWitt, a member of East Bay Housing Organizations, was reluctant to say she had doubts about the county's intentions.
"Uh, I don't want to, I don't want to say that," she said, "But, you know, I also don't know exactly the thinking of every supervisor on the issue."
The judge ruled that, despite all the campaign ads that spoke only about homeless funding, the actual ballot language of the measure included the words "and other general fund services," making it a general tax increase.
The irony is that if Measure W truly was a tax specifically meant for the homeless, it never would have passed. General tax increases only need a simple majority. A tax for a special purpose requires 2/3 for approval. In that case, it would have gotten trounced.
