By Sara Hossaini
Support is waning for another parcel tax aimed at keeping Doctors Medical Center in San Pablo open.
Last year, West Contra Costa County voters declined to put a third parcel tax in place that would have benefited West Contra Costa County's public safety-net hospital. Measure C would have imposed an additional $210 parcel tax for a 2,000-square-foot property.
Now Eric Zell, chair of the hospital's governing board, says a new poll of likely voters shows they're even less likely to pass a parcel tax this year. Fewer than half say they'd support a $150 tax, falling well short of the two-thirds needed to pass.
"This is one of a number of elements that we've considered, but it's a cornerstone of the potential funding that we were looking at," Zell said. "So it's a key blow to our ability to put together a sustainable package of funding that would potentially keep this hospital open."