SAN PABLO, Calif. — San Pablo voters approved an raising the city’s sales tax to help fund more EMS workers among fears that the only local fire station will close.
Measure K exceeded the two-thirds vote required to pass, with more than 69 percent agreeing to increase sales tax by a quarter of a cent, CBS San Francisco reports. It will fund a “hybrid emergency medical squad” meant to slash the operational costs of the fire house, and increase its chances of remaining open, despite district budget woes.
The tax is expected to general about $600,000 annually, which will be even more critical if West Contra Costa County’s only hospital, Doctors Medical Center in San Pablo, also closes, officials said.