Tax Measure Voted Down

Voters in Alameda County Tuesday voted down an unusual tax measure that would have been used to back a bond issue.

The Children’s Hospital & Research Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, financed a petition drive to place a measure on the countywide ballot to impose a parcel tax on properties. Proceeds would have helped back bonds to finance the reconstruction of the hospital to meet forthcoming earthquake safety requirements.

After Children’s qualified its ballot measure, county supervisors negotiated a slightly modified version designed to cover the county’s administrative costs, and requiring facilities financed with the tax to remain open to the public.

Both measures were on the ballot, needing a two-thirds vote to pass. They failed to attain even a simple majority.

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