To bring you up to date on Measure A transportation sales tax measure (the potential new one, not the existing one). The transportation expenditure plan (TEP) has been approved by the county and all the cities in the county. The TEP allocates a bit less than 40% to transit, the remainder mostly to maintenance and expansion of the road network. It is not a great TEP, but is better than that in the failed Measure B, and in particular, the projects submitted by the City of Sacramento are much better.
At the May 14 (agenda item 11) meeting of the Sacramento Transportation Authority (SacTA), it is expected that the sales tax ordinance, which includes the TEP, will be adopted, and forwarded to the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors with a recommendation to place it on the ballot. The ordinance is somewhat better than the last, due to the strong efforts of the SacMoves coalition and SMART (Sacramento Metro Advocates for Rail and Transit), but a lot of the innovative ideas and language did not make in it.
It is expected that the supervisors will make a decision to place it on the November ballot at the July 28 meeting. It is unlikely that the board would oppose based on the ordinance or the TEP, but there may be reluctance to place a sales tax measure on the ballot at all during these challenging times. Some members of the board tend to oppose taxes on principal, but might be more reluctant in this year. On the other hand, it could be seen as a jobs stimulus. Much will change between now and then.
If the board decides to place the measure on the November ballot, then the SacMoves coalition, of which STAR is a member, will decide whether to support or oppose the ballot measure.
STAR Meetings
The May 23 STAR Action Team Meeting will not be held. We did not have a meeting scheduled for June, so it is possible that we will not meet until after the July board of supervisors meeting. However, if you know of a compelling issue in the transit field that requires our attention, please email DD, Karen or Dan.
In the meanwhile, we encourage you to participate in SacTRU meetings, which are generally the second Saturday of the month. In particular, tomorrow’s meeting is on the topic of Sacramento Valley Station and is co-sponsored by STAR.
If you are a member of an organization which is not participating in the SacMoves coalition, please encourage them to participate, and maybe you can be the liaison. Contact DD.
Sacramento Transit Advocates and Riders (STAR) 