FREMONT — Voters inside an Alameda County public well being care district are being requested this November to approve a parcel tax that supporters of the measure say is required to maintain medical gear and expertise updated, cut back emergency room wait time and “ensure that our community has highly qualified doctors, surgeons and nurses.”
If handed on Nov. 4, Measure B is anticipated to generate $13 million yearly over the subsequent 12 years for Washington Township Well being Care District, a particular district that features the cities of Fremont, Newark and Union Metropolis, in addition to elements of Hayward and Sunol.
When it opened as Washington Hospital in 1958, the realm had about 18,000 residents. Over the many years, the well being care district has grown to incorporate a 415-bed, acute care hospital, the $350 million Morris Hyman Vital Care Pavilion, which opened in 2018, and final 12 months was designated degree II trauma middle to deal with individuals who undergo traumatic accidents from collisions, stabbings and shootings.
The Washington Township Well being Care District, which has its personal board of administrators, now serves an space with about 350,000 residents.
Also called the “Medical Emergency and Life Saving Care Funding Act,” the measure would add a 5 cents per sq. foot tax on property house owners by way of 2038. Supporters say the funds partly would go towards constructing out the ability and bolstering companies for emergency healthcare, hospital and trauma middle companies and “recruit and keep qualified medical personnel in our community.”
“When a person needs emergency care, they need it fast. Seconds can mean the difference between life and death,” reads the argument in favor of Measure B. It later added: “Measure B is needed to keep our local hospital, owned by residents of Fremont, Union City, Newark and Sunol, financially stable and able to provide the highest level of emergency healthcare. The cost of Measure B is modest … for most homeowners this is $87 or less a year.”
The argument in favor of the tax measure consists of signatures from Washington Well being Basis Board Trustee Keith Parker; Prasad Kilaru, a doctor and surgeon; Martha Guilbeaux, a nurse; Ohlone Group School District Board Trustee Sue Chan; former Newark mayor Al Nagy and Emily Duncan, president of Centro de Servicios, a social companies nonprofit company serving the Tri-Cities.
There have been no arguments filed towards the measure by the Aug. 13 deadline. It wants a easy majority, or greater than 50% of the vote, to cross.
The measure comes simply because the mud has settled on a controversial countywide tax measure. In 2020, voters narrowly handed Measure W, a half-cent, 10-year gross sales tax, however the cash was held up for years as a part of a courtroom problem the county in the end prevailed in. After hours of debate this summer time, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted on easy methods to divvy up the $810 million in income that had accrued and had been accessible for homeless companies, housing and different makes use of.
After a citizen-led group gathered 32,000 signatures, the Washington Township Well being Care District Board of Administrators on June 25 voted to position Measure B on the autumn poll. Representatives for the Residents’ Initiative for Washington Hospital, which gathered the signatures, didn’t instantly return a request searching for remark Monday.
Elsewhere within the Bay Space, Santa Clara County voters will elect a brand new county assessor, after the retirement of Larry Stone. South Bay voters will even determine on whether or not to approve a 0.625% basic gross sales tax improve to cowl a number of billion {dollars} in misplaced federal funds.
In Alameda County, voter guides might be despatched out starting on Sept. 25, the primary day of early voting begins on Oct. 6 and the final day to register to vote within the Nov. 4 election is Oct. 20.
