Contra Costa Taxpayers Association

Contra Costa County charges between $11 and $14 per registered voter to hold a special election.

Depending on the number of voters in a city or district, special elections can easily cost taxpayers $1 million or more.

So unless there is a legitimate financial emergency, there is never a good reason for councils or boards to hold special elections to seek tax increases. We have two regularly scheduled elections during each even year, and they should wait until then.