California voters could make it easier for cities to build fire stations and renovate hospitals—right now

Shelley, of the Taxpayers Association, said increased bond fees could ripple through the economy and affect many people.

“You’ll see those higher taxes pass through to higher rents, higher consumer prices, even a small donut shop in a shopping center will have higher operating costs because the property owner will pass those higher property taxes right through the lease. . ” she said.

Californians have made an exception once before, voting in 2000 to amend the school bond constitution by lowering the voting threshold to 55%.

“This has really opened the door and made it much easier for schools to take these measures. And that’s essentially the same thing as Proposition 5—bringing cities, counties and special districts to the same level of ability,” Coleman said.

Coleman tracks votes on general obligation bonds as part of his work advising California cities. About half of the general obligation bonds are passing, he said. Of those that fail, about half receive more than 55% of the vote but fail to overcome the two-thirds margin. If Proposition 5 passes, he expects to see a passage rate of 70% to 80% for general obligation bonds.

“There are a lot of needs,” Coleman said. “I think we’ll see more local governments say, ‘Hey, there’s now a real chance that we can get this legislation passed – that the will of the community can be implemented at the ballot box.’

California public hospitals ask for earthquake bonds

Over the years, many housing and infrastructure bonds have failed with little profit. Those in favor of Proposition 5 have cited some failures. In 2023, the fire department bond in Santa Cruz County has failed. despite receiving 66% of the vote. 2022 Berkeley Affordable Housing Bond failed with 59% of the vote. In Whittier, 2017 library pledge failed from 66%.

These failures also include the Antelope Valley Health District’s efforts to tried and failed It has passed on liens for its community hospital north of Los Angeles three times, according to the Association of California Health Care Districts. He failed in 2022 with 57% of the vote.

The district is one of 77 health districts, a kind of “special district” throughout California. They were created in the 1940s to provide critical services such as hospitals, ambulances and skilled nursing facilities to rural and underserved communities.

“The challenge, however, is that they are publicly owned and government entities, so they are very limited in how they can finance large-scale or even medium- and small-scale infrastructure projects,” said Sarah Bridge, vice president. President of Advocacy and Strategy for the Association of California Health Districts. “We have very little profit.”

The 33 health districts that operate community hospitals are subject to the state mandate to upgrade your buildings to ensure seismic safety by 2035. But to this day, the Antelope Valley Health District and many others are still working to secure the funds to make these changes. If they fail to comply with the state mandate, they will be forced to close.

At least two health districts have bonds on the November ballot, including one in Redondo Beach.

From his office window, Tom Bakali, CEO of the Beach Cities Health District, looks out over a sea of ​​asphalt. But that would change if voters in three City of Los Angeles Approves $30 Million Bondat an estimated cost of $3 per $100,000 of assessed value to property owners.

The asphalt will be transformed into two acres of open space for community health and wellness programs such as yoga and Zumba. In an adjacent corner of the medical campus, a youth mental health facility that has seen about 9,000 visits in the past two years will be expanded. And the 1960 hospital was demolished due to seismic problems.

“The idea is to create a place where people can come and get well,” Bakali said. “I think this is a great opportunity for voters to decide what they want.”

In the small coastal town of Cambria, the city’s public health district has proposed $5.9 million. bonds for the construction of an ambulance station.

“We consider (our ambulances) our lifeline,” said Cambria Health District board member Laurie Mealer.

She said the ambulance crew works in a 70-year-old building that was not designed for 24-hour use. The new building will include a parking garage for emergency vehicles, a decontamination room and additional storage space.

The bond will cost property owners an average of about $50 a year, Mealer said.

“That’s a cup of coffee a month,” she said. “We feel it’s time for the community to step up and share their commitment to our service.”

This is their second attempt. Two years ago, the health district’s bond for a new ambulance station collapsed at 61.4%, a shortfall of about 200 votes.

“For a small agency that doesn’t really have the cash reserves to actually pay for the infrastructure, we really rely on bonds. And setting the threshold so high makes it very difficult,” she said. “We are confident that we will get more than 60% again. The question is whether we can reach 66.7%. It would be heartbreaking if we lost by one vote.”

Kayla Mihalovich is a California local news contributor.