Meetings and an online survey in June ask residents how Measure Q money should be spent on Santa Cruz County environmental projects. (Stephen Baxter — Santa Cruz Local file)

Approved by Santa Cruz County voters in November, Measure Q’s $87 annual parcel tax will begin collecting money from property owners in the county in August. This month, community meetings will gather residents’ priorities on how to spend the money. An online survey will close July 3.

To participate:

• 6-7:30 p.m. Monday, June 9: Watsonville Civic Plaza Community Room, 275 Main St., Watsonville.
• 5:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 10: Highlands House, 8500 Highway 9, Ben Lomond.
• 5:30-7 p.m. Tuesday, June 17: Live Oak Community Center, 979 17th Ave., Santa Cruz.
• Wednesday, June 18: Measure Q citizens oversight advisory board meeting. A time and location have not yet been set.
• 5:30-7 p.m. Thursday, June 26: Join on Zoom.
• Thursday, July 3: An online survey in English and Spanish closes.
• Wednesday, July 30: Measure Q citizens oversight advisory board meeting. A time and location have not yet been set.

The meetings and survey will inform a five-year Vision Plan to guide Measure Q spending. A nine-member citizens oversight advisory board will help create the plan.

Santa Cruz County property owners should expect the $87 parcel tax on property tax bills in August. The tax is waived on agricultural properties, but it does not include exemptions for seniors or people with disabilities.

Measure Q described how its revenue will be split between public agencies and nonprofits. 

• 20%, or about $1.5 million annually, goes to the nonprofit Land Trust of Santa Cruz County and the Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County for projects on privately owned land.
• 20% goes to cities within Santa Cruz County, split proportionally by population.
• 20% goes to the County of Santa Cruz for projects in areas outside the cities. 
• 40%, about $3 million annually, will fund county-administered grants to nonprofits or public agencies. Of that, $600,000 is earmarked for San Vicente Redwoods, an 8,900-acre privately owned forest managed by the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, Peninsula Open Land Trust, the Sempervirens Fund and Save the Redwoods League. Another $600,000 must go to projects near Pajaro Valley rivers, streams and wetlands.

The Measure Q campaign was largely funded by Peninsula Open Space Trust and other nonprofits that are set to receive money from the parcel tax. 

Several local fire chiefs opposed the measure because it does not direct any money to fire agencies or guarantee that any money be spent on wildfire-related projects.

“Funds can be used for park construction, litter clean up, after-school programs, visitor services, and trailhead facilities” like toilets, wrote Mark Bingham, president of Santa Cruz County Fire Chiefs Association, in an official ballot measure argument.

Bingham noted that the measure does not “prevent the county, charged with managing the revenues, from supplanting ongoing county operating expenses with Measure Q funding,” he wrote.

Already, Measure Q money is set to fund county parks projects. 

Last week, Santa Cruz County supervisors voted to use money for parks projects in the General Fund to restore several proposed Health Services Agency cuts that faced public opposition. Supervisors then voted to set aside $500,000 of Measure Q money for parks projects. 

The county is set to approve its budget Tuesday.

Clarification: Information about Measure Q spending has been clarified in this story.

Questions or comments? Email [email protected]. Santa Cruz Local is supported by members, major donors, sponsors and grants for the general support of our newsroom. Our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support. Learn more about Santa Cruz Local and how we are funded.