Home > Resource Center > In the News Home > Greenbelt Alliance in the News

Greenbelt Alliance In the News

March 1, 2006

Sales tax for transit put on ballot

Supes OK Measure H for the June ballot. Voters must approve it by a two-thirds majority.

On Tuesday, the board sang the Southern spiritual, figuratively at least.

Supervisors unanimously approved for the June ballot a proposed half-cent sales tax that would raise nearly $1.6 billion over 30 years for local transportation projects.

The tax, now officially designated Measure H by county election officials, is the third local attempt at such a tax.

Past attempts have come up short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass such a tax, in part, because there has been significant opposition.

On Tuesday, however, Kondylis and Supervisor Duane Kromm put their considerable political weight behind the tax measure. Thus, the call for singing and celebration.

"We said if we ever came together we'd have to sing the song," Kondylis said. "I think that has happened."

The vote might have ended well, but it took several combative weeks to get to this point.

Kromm and Kondylis have been advocating for an extension of the county's Orderly Growth Initiative, set to expire in 2010.

With the support of environmental groups like the San Francisco-based Greenbelt Alliance, the two supervisors also have pushed for talks to establish a countywide park district.

At a meeting last week of all the county's mayors and the Board of Supervisors, a hard stance by Kromm and Kondylis on those two bargaining points almost derailed a compromise.

It now appears, however, that an agreement is intact, but not in a strict and formal way.

An extension of the Orderly Growth Initiative could go out to voters as early as the November ballot, Kromm said. Discussions also could begin on creating a countywide park district.

It's important that the county's tax measure and the push to extend its growth restrictions proceed to the ballot in close succession, Kromm said.

"It looks like there's good broad-based support across the community ... to do these two things," he said.

But Kromm also issued a warning, "if something falls apart ... there will be trouble."

With Tuesday's agreement, the county's transportation leaders will begin in earnest on the campaign for the tax measure.

The proposed 30-year tax would be the seed money toward federal and state dollars to help fix the county's aging highway network and undersized transit system.

The county's top priorities are to improve the Interstate 80 and I-680 interchange, build a carpool lane from Vacaville to Vallejo, and establish a paratransit system for seniors and the disabled.

"That's the idea for this," said Daryl Halls, executive director for the Solano Transportation Authority. "It's a local matching fund, especially for the large projects in the plan."

The county's tax looks to be on solid ground now that support has been minted for the measure.

A key to passing the tax this time around was limiting local opposition. Kondylis and Kromm said they would "enthusiastically" be supporting it.

After those statements, Supervisor John Vasquez looked a bit amazed.

"I want to thank my fellow board members," he said. "What you have up here is pretty monumental."

His surprise was understandable. It was a long road bringing in key support for the county's third attempt at the tax.

"Four years ago, and two years ago, and two weeks ago, I was pretty much opposed to this measure," Kondylis said. "The meeting of the minds that have been held over the last couple of weeks leads me to believe this is a good measure."

Jason Massad can be reached at county@thereporter.com.

###