The county government’s hopes to hold a special election this fall on the renewal of a quarter-cent sales tax for parks, open space and farmland preservation were dashed due to newly issued guidance around the gubernatorial recall election. Now the renewal vote for Measure A won’t come to the public until next summer—three months after its expiration, meaning Marin County Parks will likely lose out on a chunk of funds. The pandemic scuttled preparations to put it on the ballot in 2020, so the county hoped to get a nine-year renewal of the tax, first approved in 2012 by 74 percent of voters, on the ballot with the recall election this fall. But at a special Board of Supervisors hearing on July 6, legal counsel said the county couldn’t proceed because of guidance issued on July 2 by California’s Secretary of State. That guidance stated local measures could only be coupled with the recall if they had been approved for the ballot before June 15. Now the county plans to hold the tax vote with the June 2022 primary elections. Although the sales tax, which has raised about $12 million annually, expires on March 31, 2022, it can still be considered a renewal vote, not a new tax, if supervisors vote before its expiration to place it on the ballot. Still, the time gap appears to mean that some funds will be lost even in the event of a renewal. Max Korten, the director and general manager of Marin County Parks, said in an email that the department has “reserves to keep critical staff and services funded through a short gap in revenue.” As for the financial implications of that gap, he said, “The biggest impact would be on our 2022/23 budget (our fiscal year runs July – June) when we would have less to work with.” Measure A funds have supported a range of projects. According to the county, 52 percent of the funds go toward projects in county parks and open space, including trail projects, habitat protection and wildfire risk reduction; 20 percent is used for grants for farmland preservation in collaboration with nonprofits like the Marin Agricultural Land Trust; 15 percent goes to cities and towns for their parks and open space; and 13 percent is used to acquire land or easements. According to a June 2021 survey of over 700 people conducted by Godbe Research for the parks department, the renewal of Measure A has strong support. During the virtual comment period of the June 6 special meeting, one public commenter said supervisors should consider eliminating the farmland preservation component of the tax. Another commenter, Mimi Willard of the Coalition for Sensible Taxpayers, argued that a renewal of the measure should allocate a specific portion of funds for reducing wildfire risk.