Sentinel staff report–
In a rare 3-2 split vote last week, the Citrus Heights City Council opted to give approval to a proposed $8 billion countywide transportation spending plan that paves the way for a new sales tax measure to hit the ballot in November.
Councilmembers Jeannie Bruins and Bret Daniels both voted against the spending plan, while Mayor Jeff Slowey, Vice Mayor Steve Miller and Councilwoman Porsche Middleton voted in favor of approving the $8.38 billion expenditure plan. If the County Board of Supervisors and the majority of other city council’s in the county agree, the plan will move forward and a proposed 40-year, half-percent sales tax to fund the plan will likely go on November’s ballot, pending a few more steps in the process.
The proposal was drafted by the Sacramento Transportation Authority (STA), which is governed by a 16-member board of various elected officials in the region. Vice Mayor Miller, who sits on the STA board, voted against the plan last month before changing his mind and voting in favor of the plan last week.
“I’m inclined tonight to say yes to putting this on the ballot and let the voters decide whether they want to move forward with this,” said Miller. “It’s critical to our roads and to our transit district.”
Citing concern about economic hardships from the ongoing coronavirus crisis, Miller expressed optimism that funding from the tax measure could help “revive our economy with thousands of jobs.” He also expressed hope that the STA board would act to put the tax measure on hold during their final vote next month, “if this whole crisis continues to go south.”
Councilman Daniels, along with several other council members, shared criticism of the spending plan’s call for 40 percent of the funds to go towards public transit. He also noted that voters had shot down Measure B four years ago, which was a similar transportation tax measure.
“It’s just too big of a project, it’s too big of a time frame,” said Daniels. “It’s asking people for money, again, that may or may not find its way onto a Citrus Heights road, and I just don’t think it’s the right thing to do for our residents.”
Daniels said he acknowledged Citrus Heights has a need to maintain its roads, citing a “doomsday” study session held before the council meeting where staff reported a $55 million backlog in road repairs in Citrus Heights and projected that the cost will more than triple in three years, if no action is taken. He indicated that a local citywide tax would make more sense to fund road maintenance in the city.
Guest Opinion: Public transit reduces congestion for everyone
If the transportation tax measure is put on the ballot and passed by voters, Citrus Heights would receive an estimated $193 million in direct allocations over the next four decades, according to a city staff report. The actual amount could vary since estimated revenue from the tax are based on assumptions, which did not take into consideration longer term impacts from the coronavirus, according the the STA’s executive director.
A significant amount of funding would be allocated to go towards “Fix It First” street maintenance and rehabilitation to bring residential streets up to a minimum acceptable rating. Funds would also go towards a number of complete streets projects in the city, including:
- Auburn Blvd Phase II (Rusch Park – I-80)
- Auburn Blvd Phase III (Sylvan Corners – Greenback Lane)
- Auburn Blvd Phase IV (Greenback Lane – Manzanita Avenue)
- Antelope Road (Auburn Blvd – Old Auburn Road)
- Dewey Drive (Greenback Lane – Connemara Circle)
- Fair Oaks Blvd (Oak Avenue – Madison Avenue)
- Greenback Lane (Sunrise Blvd – Fair Oaks Blvd)
- Oak Avenue (Sunrise Blvd – Wachtel Way)
- Old Auburn Road (Sylvan Corners – Roseville City Limit)
- Roseville Road (Butternut Drive – City Limit)
- San Juan Avenue (Madison Avenue – Sylvan Road)
- Sunrise Blvd (Sayonara Drive – North City Limit)
- Sylvan Road (San Juan Avenue – Sylvan Corners)
- Wachtel Way (Oak Avenue – Auburn Road)
- Van Maren Lane (Greenback Lane – Garden Gate Drive)
Other projects listed in the plan for Citrus Heights include improvements to the Antelope Road/I-80 interchange for congestion relief, ADA upgrades, and bicycle/pedestrian use. The plan also calls for a “BRT to Citrus Heights,” referring to a Bus Rapid Transit project, which typically involves converting an existing lane of traffic into a bus-only lane.
See the 27-page draft spending proposal: click here
Citrus Heights Operations Manager Regina Cave said there would still be a lack of funding for the city’s road projects, even with the tax, but she noted the new funds would allow the city to leverage other grants from state and federal sources.
The only public comment received by the council regarding the transportation plan was an email from Sacramento Regional Transit, which expressed support for the plan. As the meeting was closed to the public due to coronavirus mitigation efforts, comments were allowed to be sent in via email.
The proposed transportation expenditure plan is slated for final approval from the STA board on May 14. If placed on the ballot, the measure would be called the new “Measure A.”
The tax would be in addition to an existing half-percent transportation sales tax measure, also called Measure A, which was approved in 2004.
