County leaders push sales tax measure for roads

The measure, on the June ballot, would raise $20 million annually for road repair. Opponents say it is unnecessary.|

Acknowledging that it will cost more than $1 billion to repair Sonoma County’s ailing road network, officials have launched a campaign to pass a sales tax measure that would raise $20 million per year for the effort.

Measure A, on the June 2 ballot, asks voters to increase the countywide sales tax rate by a quarter percent for five years. Proposed as a general tax, meaning it requires a simple majority to pass, the revenue could go toward any spending priority.

County officials say that they will use the funds and additional county money to repair the 1,383-mile road network, which is consistently ranked as the worst in the Bay Area. Opponents, including a tax watchdog group, say there is no guarantee that leaders will spend the money on roads, and the funds could go toward public pensions, parks or other unfunded areas.

Supervisor David Rabbitt, a proponent of road funding, said the tax measure would provide the boost needed to get the pavement into good condition.

“It’s our responsibility to not ignore our infrastructure,” Rabbitt said at a recent League of Women Voters forum in Petaluma. “This measure allows us to make the investment to fix our roads.”

Opponents of the tax say that the Board of Supervisors might use the money for other purposes. The wording of the tax measure includes “public safety” as one of the spending priorities, which opponents say means county leaders intend to use the money on law enforcement and fire fighting.

Advocates of the measure say that well-maintained roads lead to better response times from public safety agencies.

“Unfortunately, Supervisor Rabbitt is but one vote on a board of five,” said Dan Drummond, executive director of the Sonoma County Taxpayers Association, which is opposing the measure. “As much as I believe he intends to do everything he says, he does not control his colleagues on the board.”

Absentee ballots are mailed out May 4, and Rabbitt said polling shows the measure has a good chance of passing. County leaders have assembled a broad coalition of labor, public safety and business groups to support the measure, which they say would make Sonoma County safer and more prosperous.

“Roads touch each and every one of us every day,” Rabbitt said. “Our roads are crumbling. There’s no time to wait. Roads are vital for our economic engine.”

The Petaluma City Council has endorsed the measure. The increased sales tax revenue would be divided among the nine cities and the county using a formula based on population and road miles. Petaluma would receive $1.9 million for much-needed city street repairs in the first year based on sales tax projections, and $10 million over five years.

Rabbitt said that the Sonoma County Transportation Authority, which administers the sales tax revenue from a previous countywide transportation measure, could oversee Measure A funds, which would ensure the money is spent on road repairs.

“A contract with the SCTA would tie up the money for five years,” he said. “It’s a surefire way to make sure all that money goes to roads.”

Poor engineering, chronic under-funding and flat gas tax revenue are all to blame for the woeful condition of the county road network, Rabbitt said.

Sonoma County’s mostly rural road network is among the longest in the state and could stretch all the way to Nebraska. Many of the roads, little more than long driveways serving a few residents, began as gravel tracks that, at some point, received an asphalt overlay.

Supervisors in the 1990s did not adequately invest in road maintenance, and the network fell into disrepair. As pavement begins to crumble and slips down what engineers call the degradation curve, it becomes costlier to repair, Rabbitt said. Gas tax revenue, which officials count on to fix roads, has been flat for years due to more fuel efficient cars. State officials are talking about replacing the gas tax with a tax based on vehicle miles traveled, but that effort is at least five years away, Rabbitt said.

In the last four fiscal years, the county has invested $40 million to repair nearly 200 miles of roads, Rabbitt said.

“The proof is in the paving,” he said. “We have done it. We are committed to doing it.”

Drummond took issue with the fact that the measure is proposed as a general tax. Proponents have said that a specific tax, which requires two-thirds of the vote to pass, would have a hard time succeeding at the polls.

“The problems began with the strategy chosen to promote the measure,” Drummond said. “Rather than specifically committing any tax proceeds from Measure A to fund road repair, the measure was cast as a general purpose tax. The supervisors are asking us to trust them that the money would be used for roads.”

Drummond also questioned the need for a new tax at a time when the rebounding economy has replenished government coffers with increased property tax, sales tax and hotel tax revenues.

“One has to ask if an additional tax is even necessary,” he said. “The county’s budget is up 7.4 percent over last year. That’s over $100 million in new revenue.”

(Contact Matt Brown at matt.brown@arguscourier.com. On Twitter at MattBrownAC.)

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