San Diego County supervisors had a busy Thursday, with Chair Terra Lawson-Remer presiding over major votes on the county’s budget and two November ballot measures. The board unanimously approved a nearly $9.2 billion budget that relies on county reserves to maintain services and avoid layoffs.

Ballot Measures

The board advanced a countywide half-cent sales tax measure, which would raise a projected $400 million to $450 million annually. Up to 60 percent of funding could support child care and health services for children, health care for uninsured or underinsured people, food aid, and more.

Nearly 18 percent could back public safety services, wildfire prevention, and crisis response. The line item that’s gotten the most attention is the nearly 23 percent that would go toward combating the Tijuana Rivers sewage crisis.

Governance Reform

The board took a crucial second vote to place a controversial county governance reform measure on the ballot. The November measure would rebalance power at the county, giving supervisors more sway over day-to-day county operations and budgeting.

The board also unanimously approved an amended version of Supervisor Joel Anderson’s proposal to require agendas, minutes, meeting streaming, and other transparency measures for board subcommittees that have until now played out behind closed doors.

Other Developments

The board voted unanimously to approve Vice Chair Monica Montgomery Steppe’s proposal to hold additional food distribution events to aid people at risk of losing assistance. The county will also allocate $20 million to unspecified cleanup projects along the Tijuana River and set aside $2.5 million to help fix a notorious hot spot.

Original reporting: Voice of San Diego — read the source article.