Measure BB spending hit $419 million in 2024-25, watchdog report says

Alameda County's transportation sales taxes brought in about $509.6 million in Measure BB revenue in fiscal year 2024-25, and $419.2 million of it was spent. Those are the headline figures in the 24th annual report to the public that the Independent Watchdog Committee approved Thursday, July 16.

The committee took public comment on the draft at a hearing at 2 p.m. the same day before voting to approve it.

Measure B is the half-cent sales tax county voters approved for transportation. Measure BB raised it to a full cent and extended it through 2045. Measure B still produces money from prior-year collection adjustments: $18.6 million in revenue last fiscal year, against $14.3 million in audited expenditures, most of it on highway and street capital projects.

The watchdog committee's job is narrow and worth knowing. Each year it reviews the previous year's Measure B and Measure BB spending by the Alameda County Transportation Commission and reports to the public on whether the money went where the ballot measures said it would. The report also makes recommendations on how projects and programs funded by the two measures are delivered.

The full report is posted at alamedactc.org/IWC2025Report. An executive summary is available in English, Chinese and Spanish.

For anyone who wants to check a specific city or agency, the useful documents are the audited financial statements and compliance reports published alongside the report. Every agency that receives money through the direct local distribution program files one, so a reader can see what their own city did with its share.

Hard copies of the annual report can be requested by email at clerk@alamedactc.org or by phone at 510-208-7400.