Coronado voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to raise the countywide sales tax by half a cent to fund Tijuana River sewage cleanup, healthcare and public safety services.

Measure B, officially the San Diego County Health & Safety Act, would bump the sales tax from 7.75% to 8.25%. The citizen-led initiative is projected to generate $400 million to $450 million a year, according to an Friday, Oct. 2 op-ed in the Coronado News citing the San Diego Foundation's voter education project. A simple majority is required to pass.

The revenue would be divided into four categories, according to Ballotpedia. Up to 60% would go to affordable healthcare, nutrition and family services, and up to 22.5% to Tijuana River sewage programs. The remaining share would fund public safety services (up to 17.5%) and administration (up to 1.5%).

A county-commissioned study by ECOnorthwest found the cross-border sewage crisis costs the region between $125.6 million and $503.5 million a year in lost visitor spending. The 20-year toll could reach $7.9 billion. Coronado Councilmember Amy Steward called the city "the second-most-impacted city from the cross-border sewage emergency" at a Sunday, Sept. 27 water summit covered by the Coronado Times.

Supporters say the sewage allocation alone could back up to $1.2 billion in bonds for tertiary treatment and water reuse on U.S. soil. San Diego County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer said in an Aug. 31 announcement that roughly $80 million a year in guaranteed revenue could allow the county to bond for close to $1 billion in treatment infrastructure, as reported by the Coronado Times.

On Sept. 1, the Board of Supervisors approved $5.8 million in county funds to begin planning sewage treatment on U.S. soil. That included $4 million for design of a permanent box culvert fix at Saturn Boulevard and $1.8 million for engineering work on a capture and cleanup system. Supervisors Lawson-Remer and Paloma Aguirre said they were not taking a position on Measure B and are pursuing state and federal funding regardless of its outcome.

"The South Bay has heard 60 years of promises. This one comes with a budget," Aguirre said at the Aug. 31 press conference announcing the county's infrastructure planning request.

Laura Wilkinson-Sinton, CEO of StoptheSewage.org and a Coronado resident, urged a yes vote in her Friday, Oct. 2 op-ed. She argued that diplomatic agreements directing $474 million toward repairs on the Tijuana side since 2022 have not been enough, and that the county faces a $300 million budget shortfall compounded by threatened federal cuts.

A coalition of labor and healthcare groups, nonprofits and environmental advocates placed the measure on the ballot after collecting more than the required 103,000 signatures, KPBS reported.

The San Diego County Taxpayers Association (SDCTA), led by President and CEO Mark Kersey, opposes the measure. The group cited the lack of a sunset clause, no year-over-year performance targets and an oversight body that the association said appears to exclude taxpayer advocacy groups.

The SDCTA also raised concerns that passage could automatically reopen county labor contracts, making it difficult for voters to know how the money would be spent.

The tax has no end date. Spending would be restricted to the categories in the measure, and an annual audit would track expenditures.

Mail ballots are scheduled to arrive in local mailboxes the week of Monday, Oct. 5. The first vote centers open Saturday, Oct. 24.