County Still Faces Cuts Despite Measure A

Santa Clara County’s budget problem did not disappear when voters approved Measure A. That’s the core of this story. The county now says it still has to close a $787 million hole in its next budget, even after getting a new sales-tax stream that was supposed to soften the blow. So the news is blunt — the county is moving ahead with hundreds of job cuts and some clinic closures anyway. (news.santaclaracounty.gov) ### What changed this week? County Executive James Williams released the recommended budget for fiscal year 2026-27 on May 1. It’s a $14.7 billion plan, but the headline number is the deficit — nearly $800 million right away, with the county warning the gap could grow past $1 billion in the years ahead. The proposal now goes to the Board of Supervisors for workshops in May and final adoption in mid-June. (news.santaclaracounty.gov) ### Didn’t Measure A fix this? Not really. Measure A passed in November 2025 and raised the county sales tax by 0.625% for five years. County leaders expect it to bring in about $337 million a year. That is real money, but it is still far short of the losses the county say(news.santaclaracounty.gov)s not erase it. (news.santaclaracounty.gov) ### Where is the hole coming from? The county says the biggest driver is reduced federal support for healthcare and food assistance, layered on top of slower property-tax growth and rising operating costs. The pressure lands hardest on Santa Clara Valley Healthcare, which (news.santaclaracounty.gov)ublic health system while a major revenue source gets weaker. (news.santaclaracounty.gov) ### So what gets cut? The recommended budget eliminates 655 positions across county government. The county says many of those jobs are vacant, and Williams has said he wants to avoid layoffs by moving affected workers into other open roles. But even if the county avoids pink slips, the service impact is still real — the proposal also includes closing two behavioral health clinics. (kqed.org) ### Why are clinics closing if new tax money is coming in? Because the county is using the new money mostly as damage control. The full Measure A revenue for this year is being directed to Santa Clara Valley Healthcare to help keep hospitals and clinics running. Turns out that still isn’t enough to preserve e(kqed.org)t. (news.santaclaracounty.gov) ### Is this a one-year crunch? County leaders are signaling that it isn’t. Williams called this one of the biggest budget gaps the county has faced in decades, and officials have described this as the fourth straight year of reductions. Earlier this year, supervisors already approved roughly $200 million in midyear cuts, including about 365 position eliminations. The current proposal is the next round, not the first one. (kqed.org) ### Why is healthcare taking the brunt? Because that is where the county’s exposure is largest. Medicaid — Medi-Cal in California — is a huge revenue source for Santa Clara Valley Healthcare. If federal policy cuts that stream, the county either backfills it with local money or shrinks services. Measure A was sold as a backfill tool, and the county is using it that way. The catch is that the backfill is smaller than the loss. (mercurynews.com) ### What happens next? Supervisors will spend May reviewing the proposal before the budget is adopted in June. The real fight now is less about whether cuts are coming and more about where they land. That is why this story matters — voters approved more local tax revenue, but Santa Clara County is still in austerity mode. (sa([mercurynews.com)ore-healthcare-cuts/))