Citizen group to oversee Santa Clara County’s Measure A spending

Santa Clara County leaders promised their voter-approved sales tax increase would save local public hospitals from closure. That commitment will now be tested.

The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to form a citizen oversight committee to ensure that $330 million in Measure A revenue will be spent as advertised. County leaders last year vowed Measure A would help California’s second largest public hospital system alleviate strain from massive federal spending cuts under President Donald Trump.

“(The citizen oversight committee is) a way to validate and ensure that we did what we said we would do,” County Executive James Williams said at the meeting.

Supervisors set parameters for who will sit on the oversight committee, but did not appoint members. It wasn’t clear as of Wednesday when that will happen.

The committee will comprise eight seats. Each of the five supervisors will appoint members for five of the seats, with final approval by the full board.  Supervisors will appoint members for two other seats on a rotating basis. Newly elected County Assessor Neysa Fligor, who was sworn in Monday, will also serve on the committee as a non-voting member.

Supervisors’ appointments will be guided by a specific set of backgrounds sought by the county. For example, one oversight committee member must be a health care professional, such as a physician or nurse. Another must be an auditor or certified public accountant. Officials making the appointments will also be asked to select people from backgrounds that include health care advocacy, civic organizations, organized labor and business. Each category will be randomly assigned to supervisors.

It’s the same formula used for the citizens’ oversight committee that tracked the spending of the county’s cornerstone 2016 housing bond, also known as Measure A.

“It’s worked well,” Williams said. “It’s been heavily praised and we have lifted and adapted that same structure here.”

The more recent Measure A passed among 57% of voters in November. Shortly after, Williams publicly announced he would recommend the full allocation of tax revenue to the county health system and offset Medi-Cal funding cuts – which keep the hospitals alive — under the federal H.R. 1 spending bill.

But Williams’ recommendation miffed law enforcement interests who said they had assurances from the county that they would also see some of that funding. District Attorney Jeff Rosen then responded with threats of an investigation into the Measure A political campaign.

Measure A was written as a general tax, where spending is not restricted to a specific use and needs a simple majority for approval. The county opted not to campaign for a special tax, which would have legally restricted funds to hospitals but required a higher 66.7% voter approval threshold.

District 2 Supervisor Betty Duong said her decisions about Measure A spending will be guided by residents.

“You have my full commitment that I’ll be informed by your feedback to make sure I pass a vote that’s aligned with your needs and hopes and wishes for securing access to quality care for everyone,” Duong said at the meeting. “And that the oversight committee — based on this composition — will watch us like a hawk to make sure every dollar is spent exactly the way this board has voted.”

Contact Brandon Pho at [email protected] or @brandonphooo on X.