Sales tax hike in SLO County proposed to address traffic congestion

A half-cent sales tax measure could go before voters in San Luis Obispo County this November and, if approved, would raise about $25 million a year — mostly to relieve growing traffic congestion.

The countywide tax would be in effect for nine years and would require approval by two-thirds of county voters. The measure would raise the county’s current sales tax of 7.5 percent to 8 percent.

The San Luis Obispo Council of Governments voted 10-1 this past week to start the process of putting the measure on the ballot, noting that California and federal transportation funding has fallen off dramatically in recent years.

“There is a reluctant, but growing, sense that we need to take care of this problem ourselves,” said Ron De Carli, executive director of the county agency that decides how to use the county’s regional transportation funds.

County transportation officials point to several areas where congestion has become particularly bad:

▪ The southbound lanes of Highway 101 have become notorious south of San Luis Obispo at the Shell Beach Straights, because traffic frequently gets backed up during rush hour;

▪ Many frustrated drivers take alternate routes such as Highway 227, Prado Road and Los Osos Valley Road. These thoroughfares, too, are becoming backed up;

▪ Traffic congestion is also a problem on Highway 46 at Highway 101 and along many cross-town routes in the county’s cities.

The tax would also be used to fix potholes, improve bridge safety and make alternative transportation improvements between communities, such as the Bob Jones City-to-Sea Trail. Widening roads and other measures to reduce traffic congestion would be a top priority, though.

Approval of the measure would classify the county as a “self-help” county, because the county would have its own dedicated source of transportation funding and would not be as reliant on dwindling state and federal funding.

“By virtue of the fact that we are not a self-help county, we do not have the funds to leverage the grants we need,” said Supervisor Adam Hill, who supports pursuing the sales tax and is one of 12 elected officials who serves on the SLOCOG board.

State and federal transportation funding has decreased drastically in recent years mostly because of dropping gasoline tax revenues. Low oil prices have made gasoline much cheaper, and the increasing popularity of fuel-efficient cars has reduced the amount of gasoline being purchased.

“We are at a fiscal cliff,” said De Carli, SLOCOG’s executive director. “Gas prices are wonderfully low, but that means our funding goes down dramatically.”

The next steps in the process are to meet with city councils to update them on the initiative and to get feedback and support. A detailed transportation investment plan will also be written and will refine the details of how the money would be spent. At a minimum, a majority of the cities would have to approve the measure as well as the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors before it could be placed on the ballot.

The biggest challenge would be achieving the two-thirds voter threshold in the November general election, De Carli said. To get a start at reaching that goal, SLOCOG officials have met with more than 700 people through various groups and civic organizations over the past year.

They have also conducted telephone polling that shows support in the mid-60 percent range. That’s up from support in the mid-40 percent range a year ago.

“That puts us in the 67 percent range we need to get the tax approved,” De Carli said.

The polling also showed that a shorter duration of the tax would make it more palatable to voters. For this reason, the SLOCOG board chose a nine-year lifespan rather than the more common 20 or 30 years.

“Nine years was a safe choice,” Hill said. “With nine years, people will have a chance to see if this is working.”

This story was originally published April 9, 2016 at 6:09 PM with the headline "Sales tax hike in SLO County proposed to address traffic congestion."