The campaign behind San Diego County's proposed half-cent sales tax increase has pulled in more than $3.4 million, according to finance reports first reported by Voice of San Diego.

Del Mar and Solana Beach voters will decide on Measure B on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The measure would raise the sales tax rate from 7.75% to 8.25% on most purchases countywide. The San Diego County auditor's office estimates the increase would generate $400 million to $450 million a year, according to Voice of San Diego's earlier reporting.

The tax would have no expiration date.

Who's writing the checks

Children First San Diego, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit focused on child care access, tops the donor list at $670,000. Its primary funder is the Bay Area-based Heising-Simons Action Fund, Voice of San Diego reported.

Mel Katz, chair of the San Diego Foundation, gave the Yes on B committee two loans totaling $500,000 earlier this year. He and his staffing company, Manpower Staffing of San Diego, also donated $79,252, bringing his total to $579,252. Separately, the San Diego Foundation itself contributed $250,000.

Qualcomm co-founder Irwin Jacobs donated $325,000.

Sharp HealthCare gave $305,000. Voice of San Diego reported Sharp is among hospital groups concerned about how federal Medicaid cuts could affect patient care and operations.

Service Employees International Union Local 221 (SEIU Local 221) and affiliated committees contributed $256,378. The county's largest labor union has been a leading champion of the measure.

The United Domestic Workers of America Action Fund gave $250,000. That committee is affiliated with the union for home health care workers. Scripps Health contributed $100,000.

Where the money would go

The measure would direct up to 60% of revenue to health care, nutrition and food security programs. Up to 22.5%, roughly $90 million to $100 million a year, would go toward Tijuana River sewage solutions. Up to 22% would fund child care. Up to 17.5% would support public safety, including firefighter hiring and 911 system upgrades.

Measure B supporter Courtney Baltiyskyy said during a Politifest debate that the campaign estimates the tax would cost a family of four less than $200 a year. Mark Kersey of the San Diego County Taxpayers Association, who argued against the measure at the same event, did not dispute that estimate.

Critics flag concerns

Kersey raised questions about oversight and the measure's permanence.

"The priorities that they've locked in right now, those spending priorities will be the priorities in perpetuity," Kersey said at Politifest.

He also argued the measure's 12-member citizen oversight committee focuses on spending compliance rather than tracking results. "An oversight committee should not be made of people that are actually receiving the funding," Kersey said.

Voice of San Diego reported that two county labor unions, SEIU Local 221 and Teamsters Local 986, included clauses in their latest contracts that would trigger reopened pay negotiations if voters approve a measure generating revenue for the county's general fund in 2026. The Taxpayers Association flagged that as a concern.

The measure bars bonuses or salary increases for county managers, executives and elected officials.

No information about organized opposition fundraising was available in the finance reports reviewed by Voice of San Diego.

San Diego County supervisors voted 3-2 in May to place Measure B on the ballot, according to NBC San Diego. Supervisors Paloma Aguirre, Terra Lawson-Remer and Monica Montgomery Steppe voted yes; Joel Anderson and Jim Desmond opposed it.

Polls close at 8 p.m. on Nov. 3.