01138999

Component

This paper researches the factors in the success or failure of countywide local transportation sales tax measures in California through a literature review, original research, and case studies of three recent ballot measures. The three counties were: Monterey County (population: 400,000), Santa Cruz County (population: 250,000) and Amador County (population: 35,000). Combining revelations from a review of literature on countywide local transportation sales tax measures, research and interviews with key participants directly involved in the placing of a local transportation sales tax on the ballots has led the author to develop the following list of six key factors determining the success or failure of a countywide local transportation sales tax measure: (1) Urban nature. Urban counties, with their higher levels of congestion and denser populations, have historically had an easier time passing and reauthorizing local sales tax measures for transportation projects than suburban, exurban or rural counties .(2) Passage of a prior sales tax. Reauthorizations are more successful than new taxes. The challenge is getting under the tent of “self-help counties” in the first place. (3) Timing of the election. The best timing is to place the measure on the ballot for a presidential election with a high level of anticipated voter turnout. (4) Distrust of government in general, with the expenditure of public funds, and of the local elected representatives in particular. To resolve this factor, the agency needs to prove they can responsibly manage public funds and successfully implement projects “on time and within budget.” Inclusion of an oversight committee for the implementation of the expenditure plan is critical. (5) Public outreach, education and involvement in the plan. The public must understand and agree on the need for the tax, help choose the projects that would be built, and perceive how the measure will improve their lives. (6) Inclusionary principle. A broad stakeholder group should be involved from the beginning, representing every political and influential group in the county, and the plan must be developed using the consensus method. Anyone excluded from the process might eventually become part of the opposition. The author hopes that these findings can be useful to proponents of sales tax measures in the future, and that these successes will go some way towards reinvestment in the transportation infrastructure to make California an efficient, environmentally sustainable, and economically successful model for the world.

01138544

English

15p

2008

11th National Conference on Transportation Planning for Small and Medium-Sized Communities

CD-ROM

References (37) ; Tables (2)

Case studies; Literature reviews; Local transportation; Political factors; Sales tax

Tax ballot measures; Voting

Amador County (California); Monterey (California); Santa Cruz (California)

Administration and Management; Finance; Highways; I10: Economics and Administration

TRIS, TRB

Aug 21 2009 2:49PM