Pasadena Council Meets Barger on Measure ER Funds
Pasadena's council holds a special joint session with Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger over how health care tax revenue is divided.
Updated on Nov. 9, 2026 in Healthcare
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Pasadena City Council is meeting with Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger in a special joint session. The talks center on a proposal to split Measure ER health care tax funds between Pasadena and Long Beach by population.
Why it matters
Pasadena and Long Beach are the only cities in the county operating their own public health departments, so the split determines how much local health funding each city receives. The proposal would give Pasadena a smaller share than the February spending plan set out.
Under the proposed population formula, Pasadena would receive 23% of the city-county share, with Long Beach receiving 77%. Pasadena's projected annual share is about $2 million, while a city spokesperson estimated about $1 million, and the final amount is still unsettled.
The players
Kathryn Barger
Kathryn Barger is a Los Angeles County Supervisor who co-sponsored the motion proposing a population-based split of Measure ER funds.
Rex Richardson
Rex Richardson is the mayor of Long Beach who projected the combined two-city share of Measure ER funds at about $10 million a year before the election.
The details
Measure ER is a half-cent countywide sales tax approved by voters in June and expected to provide almost $1 billion a year over five years. The February spending plan set aside 1% of revenue for the two cities' health departments, divided by each city's core public health spending over the prior five fiscal years, while a Barger-Hahn motion proposes dividing that money by population instead.
Timeline
June: Voters approved the Measure ER half-cent countywide sales tax.
Feb. 10: The Board of Supervisors adopted a spending plan setting aside 1% of revenue.
Sept. 1: County supervisors considered the Barger-Hahn population-based distribution motion.
Nov. 9, 3:30 p.m.: Pasadena council and Supervisor Barger hold a special joint meeting.
Funding Framework
The dispute extends the funding framework Measure ER created when voters approved the half-cent countywide sales tax in June. Pasadena and Long Beach are the only cities in the county that operate their own public health departments, which is why the division method matters.
The population split would determine how much of Measure ER's health money reaches Pasadena's public health department each year. Residents of Pasadena would see the local health department's budget shaped by whichever formula the county adopts.
The takeaway
Measure ER's allocation method will decide how much health funding reaches each city's public health department. Residents can follow the Nov. 9 meeting to see which formula the council and county adopt.
What happens next
The special joint meeting between the Pasadena council and Supervisor Barger is scheduled for Nov. 9 at 3:30 p.m.
Further reading
For broader context on how health funding flows through local systems, explore Healthcare coverage.
More information
Review the official Nov. 9 special meeting agenda from the City of Pasadena.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Pasadena Now.
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