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POTENTIAL SALES TAX MEASURE AD HOC COMMITTEE WORKING GROUP

RECORD OF ACTION FOR
January 23, 2020

Working Group Meeting Co-Chairs:
Mariana Moore, Ensuring Opportunity Campaign
Joshua Anijar, Contra Costa Central Labor Council

Agenda Items:

Items may be taken out of order based on the business of the day and preference of the Committee


1.				Introductions

2.				Public comment on any item under the jurisdiction of the Committee and not on this agenda (speakers may be limited to three minutes).
				*No public comment was offered.*

3.				Receive Record of Action for the January 10, 2020 Potential Sales Tax Measure Ad Hoc Committee Working Group meeting.
				Approved as presented.

4.				Discuss the formulation of a need assessment.
				Each participant in the work group shared a temperature check with their perspectives on the process so far, and what they would like to see within this process to ensure that they remain engaged with the work group. Jim Ross, from the political firm Telegraph, shared his perspectives on the political process and how the work of creating a needs assessment will be instrumental in polling, identifying the appetite of voters for various public/social services in the community, as well as ultimately educating the electorate on the full scope of needs and service gaps within the county. The co-chairs then went on to facilitate a break-out session where participants organized into groups to discuss needs pertaining to the following broader themes: Health, Housing & Homelessness, Social Safety Net, and Other. Participants were tasked with identifying specific needs within each of these buckets. For Health, participants identified concerns around a hypothetical closure of the county hospital, as well as the need to bolster health services that are already being provided such as oral health, mental health, youth trauma mitigation, and emergency medicine. Next, participants from the Housing & Homelessness group shared needs around permanent supportive housing services for seniors, greater workforce housing stock, and the holistic need to prevent homelessness from the outset and create cost-savings around front-loading services that help people avoid chronic homelessness. Specifically, participants in this group shared the need for ongoing and even one-time rental subsidies to prevent the first incidence of homelessness for at-risk individuals and families. Participants in the Social Safety Net group identified the need around providing greater services to reduce the strain of homeless and mental health/substance misuse impacted individuals on first responders. Shared also were needs surrounding immigrant legal services, and the need to better meet AB109/Prop 47 populations (among other justice-involved people) with services as they reenter society. Last, individuals in the “Other” group identified needs around kids and families, specifically greater library services and a “children’s fund” to target opportunity gaps in various areas of the county with disproportionately low rates of elementary school readiness among young children.

5.				Establish meeting schedule.
				The next meeting of the Ad Hoc Potential Sales Tax Work group will be held on Thursday, February 13^th at 2:00pm in room 101 of the County Administrative Building, 651 Pine St., Martinez. The next meeting of the Potential Sales Tax Ad Hoc Committee of the Board of Supervisors, which is scheduled for March 9^th at 10:30 am in the Board of Supervisors chambers (room 107) of the County Administrative Building, 651 Pine St., Martinez.

6.				Adjourn

The Potential Sales Tax Measure Ad Hoc Committee will provide reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities planning to attend Potential Sales Tax Measure Ad Hoc Committee meetings. Contact the staff person listed below at least 72 hours before the meeting.

Any disclosable public records related to an open session item on a regular meeting agenda and distributed by the County to a majority of members of the Potential Sales Tax Measure Ad Hoc Committee less than 96 hours prior to that meeting are available for public inspection at 651 Pine Street, 10th floor, during normal business hours.

Public comment may be submitted via electronic mail on agenda items at least one full work day prior to the published meeting time.

For Additional Information Contact:

Lisa Driscoll, County Finance Director
Phone (925) 335-1023, Fax (925) 646-1353
lisa.driscoll@cao.cccounty.us