"We have been very prudent in how we spend money," a county supervisor who is among Measure B's leading advocates told supporters recently. "That is why we have the highest bond rating in local government around — a AAA bond rating." He went on to warn that drawing down reserves to cover the county's health services deficit would "affect our bond rating," raising borrowing costs on county buildings and capital projects.

Both claims are misleading, and taken together they suggest voters should treat the entire case for Measure B with fresh skepticism — especially since the county has already been caught misrepresenting the numbers once.

Before the Board of Supervisors voted in March to place Measure B on the ballot, county materials described the projected health services revenue loss as "$307 million in ongoing annual losses." We identified that figure as a cumulative four-year total, not an annual one. County staff confirmed the error on the record and revised the ballot resolution the same day the Board voted. Supervisor Candace Andersen cited the correction as a key reason for her lone no vote.

The corrected figure — $239 million cumulative through FY2028-29 — also incorporated a Congressional delay of Disproportionate Share Hospital payment reductions to September 2028. Congress has delayed those same cuts more than a dozen times across four presidential administrations. They have never once taken effect. The inevitable further delays to DSH funding cuts will shrink the County’s revenue loss figure even further.

Now consider the bond rating claim. Contra Costa does not hold the top Moody's rating. Moody's rates the county Aa1 — one notch below the Aaa ceiling — and has done so since 2021. The supervisor's "AAA" boast reflects only the S&P rating, and that credential is far from distinctive: as of January 1, S&P maintained AAA ratings on 112 counties across the country, including a dozen others in California alone. Alameda, Los Angeles, Marin, Orange, San Diego, Santa Clara, and Sonoma Counties all carry the identical rating.

The warning that drawing down reserves would jeopardize that rating is equally unfounded. Moody’s methodology places great weight on available fund balance and liquidity. Public summaries of its cities-and-counties scorecard generally associate an Aaa-level available fund balance with ratios above 35% of revenue, while 25% to 35% maps to the Aa range. Contra Costa’s budget materials show unusually large reserves: total General Fund balance as of June 30, 2025 was $1.213 billion, or 49.4% of General Fund revenue. The county could absorb a large reserve drawdown without triggering a downgrade.

Moreover, the county health system holds its own enterprise fund reserves of approximately $419 million, entirely separate from the General Fund. A resident-led analysis at ContraCostaPlanB.com, drawing on the county's own March budget forecast, shows those reserves are sufficient to cover the health system's projected deficits through FY2026-27 and FY2027-28 without drawing on the General Fund at all. Deferring any tax to the June 2028 ballot — once the true scope of federal cuts is known — would have required little or no drawdowns from Contra Costa’s more-than-ample general fund reserves.

Two years is enough time for the picture to clarify considerably. The California State Senate has proposed a budget framework restoring several Medi-Cal cuts. SEIU-UHW has submitted 1.55 million signatures to place a billionaire wealth tax on the November ballot with proceeds largely dedicated to Medi-Cal, and the legislature has until late June to offer enough state-level restoration to convince the union to withdraw it. Any of these could reduce the county's projected shortfall before Measure B taxes even take effect.

Voters were given inaccurate numbers when this tax was placed on the ballot. The bond rating and reserve arguments offered in its defense do not survive scrutiny. Vote No on June 2.

Upcoming Events

CoCoTax Lunch, May 22: County Assessor Gus Kramer Looks Back at His Time in Office
Friday, May 22, 2026 | 11:45am – 1:15pm PDT

CoCoTax Lunch, June 26: Former State Senator Steve Glazer Discusses BART Accountability
Friday, June 26, 2026 | 11:45am – 1:15pm PDT

CoCoTax Lunch, July 24: County Budget Overview with County Administrator Monica Nino
Friday, July 24, 2026 | 11:45am – 1:15pm PDT

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