In less than a month, Santa Clara County voters will decide if they want to levy an additional 0.625% sales tax to maintain the county medical system in the face of federal cuts (HB1).  The Weekly submitted the following questions to Rishi Kumar, the chair of the No on Measure A committee. Below are the answers The Weekly received, and we present them verbatim.

The No on A campaign believes that cutting other parts of the county budget is a better solution to the problem currently facing our county’s healthcare system. Please be specific about what budget items you would cut to make up the deficit the county is currently facing.

Raising taxes before enforcing long-overdue fiscal discipline is not the answer. Despite claims that the county has “cut to the bone,” there’s no visible evidence of meaningful cost-saving measures. Instead, the county has increased 4x the subsidies from the general fund — from money that would otherwise go to other county critical services. This was never brought up by any county supervisor as an issue.

It’s time for a comprehensive forensic audit. The county must identify and reduce waste, then publicly share the findings to rebuild trust and ensure fiscal transparency. The elected supervisors have a responsibility to get the job done — not just raise taxes — and that begins with transparency, accountability, and real struggles against waste. Only then can we restore the integrity of county government and protect taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars.

Santa Clara County’s projected deficit balloons to $4.4 billion by 2030. Much of the fiscal stress comes from expensive acquisitions of private hospitals like O’Connor, St. Louise, and the Regional Medical Center, which the county purchased to qualify for additional federal healthcare dollars. Unfortunately, these acquisitions, some of the most expensive in the country, now burden taxpayers with huge operating costs — while federal and state aid dollars are shrinking by the minute. 

But the county continues on an egregious path—spending taxpayer dollars with mailers sent to every Santa Clara County household that appears designed to covertly promote Measure A. Such continued misuse of taxpayer dollars is strongly condemned by the No on Measure A Committee which is filing a lawsuit against the county to insistent that it be held accountable for every misused taxpayer dollar.

What services of the county medical system would you eliminate if necessary?

County spending has doubled from approximately $6.4 billion in the 2017-18 fiscal year to a projected $13.7 billion in 2025-26. The primary driver of this steep increase is healthcare spending. A whopping $7.1 billion, more than half  (52%) of Santa Clara County’s $13.7 billion budget—goes to its Health and Hospital System, the second largest public hospital network in California. By comparison, Los Angeles County only spends $14 billion on health services out of a $46.8 billion budget, even though its population is five times our county. Yes, the Trump cuts are a problem for our county, and it’s time for a smarter healthcare approach.

Meanwhile, the VTA light rail and bus system continues losing nearly $1 billion annually. It’s time to cut back rein in costs and focus only on retaining essential services. Passenger fares, advertising, and property leases make up a small portion of its budget — less than 10% of total operating revenue. A scathing grand jury report to prove it — it’s time to take tough action and start shutting down unused services that are a burden on our taxpayers. It’s time to stop the bleed!

We are in a crisis and heading towards being a bankrupt county if we don’t make adjustments immediately. Let’s aim to gradually revert the county’s healthcare to operating expenditure levels closer to 2010—when spending was $1.5 billion––protect frontline healthcare or safety‑net services through smarter, leaner management strategies.

The proponents of Measure A say that if the measure fails, the county will be forced to shut down some, if not all, of its hospitals. If this happens, where will people go for medical care?

Claims that hospitals would shut down are a “Sky is falling”  scare tactic. The County is required to provide indigent care as the “provider of last resort” for residents who cannot afford medical services, as stated in California Welfare and Institutions Code Section 17000.

Even without Measure A, the County can scale back healthcare operations to 2010 which provided stable, effective care without excessive expansion or administrative costs. The County’s legal obligation and capacity to deliver essential services will not disappear if Measure A fails (and clearly we had been doing it for years) — but the outcome should be a clear call to reform, not another tax increase.

Would you consider an alternative tax measure to help the county make up some of the money it needs to close the funding gap, and if so, what would that be?

No way! It’s simply the wrong time to be raising taxes and Measure A is regressive. Working families can’t decide whether to buy groceries or put gas in the car due to inflation. 

While there was extensive planning for this sales tax increase, there was no similar effort to cut costs. Santa Clara County leaders were able to place the sales tax measure on the ballot only because they had been preparing the tax increase for two years—long before the federal cuts. In 2023, Sen. Dave Cortese (D-San Jose) pushed through state legislation that allowed the Board of Supervisors to seek voter approval for the sales tax hike.  We wish diligent efforts had been made to cut costs instead!

 The people of Santa Clara County want to see us pull back from this illogical and ill-conceived expansion of our healthcare budget. The word has gotten out that there are new taxes proposed already for the 2026 ballot. The Nextdoor outrage against tax increases is telling. 

Santa Clara County should commit to public audits, performance-based budgeting, and reallocation of wasted or misused funds. Only when accountability is proven should taxpayers be asked to contribute more.

In short, No on Measure A stands for responsible budgeting, transparent governance, and protecting frontline services without defaulting to tax increases.

Rishi Kumar chairs the No on Measure A committee, is a former councilmember of Saratoga and is running for county Assessor.

For the Yes on A stance, please see Supervisor Susan Ellenberg’s responses to The Weekly’s questions.