San Mateo County Supervisors Allocate $110M in Measure K Funds to Address County Needs, Including Two Emergency Coordinators Added to the Department of Emergency Management

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

PRESS RELEASE. From the San Mateo County Executive’s Office on March 26th, 2024.

Staff Report

 

Redwood City – San Mateo County Supervisors voted unanimously today to allocate $110 million for the upcoming fiscal year to expand services for the most vulnerable residents, tackle the causes of homelessness, improve parks and more.

 

The package includes $34.5 million in funding targeted in three priority areas set by the Board last year:

• Children, Families and Seniors: $16 million
• Housing and Homelessness: $15 million
• Emergency Preparedness: $3.5 million

 

“We have a unique opportunity here in San Mateo County to expand critical services that people here need to thrive,” said Warren Slocum, president of the Board of Supervisors. “We are committed to ensure that we are focused on ways that expand opportunities and expand equity for all.”

 

In addition to the $34.5 million targeted in the three priority areas for the 2024-25 fiscal year, the Board also approved allocating $75.5 million in ongoing programs and services. These include:

• The Big Lift, to improve childhood literacy and family engagement
• Gun violence prevention efforts
• Fire mitigation
• Affordable housing and shelter operations
• Elder abuse prevention and investigation
• County Parks improvements
• And more

 

Funding is from Measure K, a half-cent, voter-approved sales tax that provides local funds for local needs. (A half-cent adds a dime on a taxable purchase of $20; most groceries and prescription drugs are exempt from sales tax.)

 

Last year, Supervisors agreed to set aside about a third of annual Measure K sales tax revenues to target specific needs outlined through a year-long public outreach process.

 

This involved listening sessions held from Daly City to East Palo Alto, surveys and community engagement and outreach in multiple languages that, in essence, asked residents, “What do you and your family need to thrive?”

 

With the community feedback in hand, the County issued a Notice of Funding Opportunities that asked for creative and innovative proposals focused on the three priority areas.

 

The County received a total of 315 applications: 232 to provide programs for children, families and seniors; 28 to bolster emergency preparedness; and 55 for housing and homelessness services.

 

Requests for Measure K funding in the first year alone totaled $251 million, far more than the $34.5 million in available funding.

 

Panels of subject-matter experts that comprised County staff, community members and partners reviewed and evaluated each application. The panels considered need for the program and an applicant’s capacity to do the work, among other factors.

 

Recommended for funding are 13 housing and homeless services programs; 13* for emergency preparedness; and two for children, family and seniors. The new contracts, once approved, are slated to commence in July.

 

Due to the high interest in the children, families and seniors priority area, review panels continue to evaluate applications; staff expects to return to this Board with recommendations for allocating the remaining $13 million in this priority area in the coming months.

 

*Note a change from the posted recommendations: The Board approved adding two emergency coordinators to the Department of Emergency Management while deleting the “Operation Area Emergency Plan Annex” with no overall change in funding.

 

Learn more about Measure K and the funding process at https://smcmeasurek.org/

 

---

 

 

2024 Election