Here’s how San Luis Obispo spent its half-cent sales tax increase

Of the nearly $5 million spent by the city of San Luis Obispo from its Measure G funding, nearly half went to neighborhood street paving and public safety last fiscal year.

The city’s Annual Community Report, which was released this week, details how revenues were used from the half-cent sales tax increase. The increase was first approved by voters in 2006 and then extended in 2014 until 2022. The half-cent bump generated $4.9 million in 2015-16.

The Citizen’s Revenue Enhancement Oversight Commission makes recommendations to the City Council about Measure G spending priorities. The following is a breakdown of how the $4.9 million was spent in 2015-16:

▪  Neighborhood street paving, upgraded bike lanes (24 percent).

▪  Public safety, including downtown police officers (23 percent).

▪  Parks and recreation/senior programs and facilities (14 percent).

▪  Flood protection (13 percent).

▪  Open space preservation (12 percent).

▪  Bicycle and pedestrian improvements (5 percent).

▪ Code enforcement (5 percent).

▪  Traffic congestion relief/safety improvements (4 percent).

This story was originally published March 23, 2017 at 4:24 PM with the headline "Here’s how San Luis Obispo spent its half-cent sales tax increase."