The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors approved a voter initiative Tuesday that seeks to continue indefinitely a half-cent sales tax for road repairs and other transportation improvements.
Officials expect the Measure I Expenditure Plan, which supervisors approved 5-0 without discussion, to be on the Nov. 3 ballot.
If voters OK the plan, it is projected to generate roughly $7.5 billion over the first 30 years to fund a wide assortment of transportation projects countywide, according to the plan.
Officials aimed for geographic equity by using a “Return to Source” model that ensures revenue generated within specific subareas is reinvested into those same communities.
In the San Bernardino Valley, direct local benefits will go to Chino, Chino Hills, Colton, Fontana, Grand Terrace, Highland, Loma Linda, Montclair, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Redlands, Rialto, San Bernardino, Upland and Yucaipa, along with the valley’s unincorporated areas.
For mountain and desert communities, dedicated funding is for Adelanto, Apple Valley, Barstow, Big Bear Lake, Hesperia, Needles, Twentynine Palms, Victorville, Yucca Valley and surrounding rural unincorporated areas.
The plan prioritizes investments in local streets and roads, regional highway and transit improvements and transportation operations, including roadway repair, congestion relief, goods movement, transit services and active transportation infrastructure.
Spending priorities differ for the valley and mountain-desert designations.
“Local mobility” projects “that focus on local roadways, bikeways and sidewalks
… are defined as local street and road construction, repair and maintenance” and other local transportation elements, according to the plan. “Regional mobility” refers to a “focus on goods movement, transit, managed lanes, congestion management and emerging transportation technologies to enhance regional movement.”
The “operations” category of spending priorities refers to “mobility services via rail, transit, senior and specialized services, first/last mile connections, ridesharing and safety support functions,” the county reported.
For the San Bernardino Valley, local mobility and operations would receive 25% of voter-approved Measure I funds, with regional priorities commanding half of the funding.
Mountain and desert communities have a 70% focus on local mobility, with 20% for regional mobility priorities and 10% for the operations category.
The Measure I Plan allows the Transportation Authority Board of Directors can increase mountain-desert operations funding “based upon recommendation of Subarea representatives and the Mountain/Desert Policy Committee … upon on a finding that such increase is required to address unmet transit needs of the Subarea. All increases above the 10% initial revenue collected for the Operations category shall come from the Local Mobility category of the Subarea.”
The county officials and voters approved Measure I in 1989 and again in 2004. If approved in November, the sales tax will require a ballot initiative to repeal it.
The current Measure I ordinance is set to expire in 2040.
The sales-tax spending plan also needs approval from city councils representing both a majority of the cities in the county and a majority of the population residing in the incorporated areas, according to a county staff report.
“If passed, the Measure I Program will continue to provide long-term funding to help fight traffic congestion, improve local streets, major roads, and highways; and enhance San Bernardino County’s economy by providing construction-related jobs, manufacturing jobs, and a transportation system to meet the needs of residents and the business communities,” county staff reported.
The San Bernardino County Transportation Authority, which OK’d the plan prior to the Board’s approval, manages Measure I funds, according to the report.
Since its inception, the dedicated tax has provided funding for numerous transportation projects, including freeways, local roads, major streets, interchanges, the Metrolink commuter train system, public buses,
traffic signals and other improvements, officials reported.
This plan calls for infrastructure improvements in the Cajon Pass and other key corridors.
“It will also support evacuation planning, bolster emergency response capabilities, improve primary evacuation routes, and fund transit-related evacuation needs,” according to the Measure I Plan. “In addition, the program will be available to address unexpected infrastructure damage resulting from natural or human-caused disasters, ensuring rapid recovery and the restoration of essential interregional mobility.”
“By providing long-term, locally controlled funding that remains within the county, the program supports job creation, economic development and a transportation system that enhances mobility and safety, further advancing the county’s goal of achieving the Countywide Vision,” according to a county statement.
The Measure I Expenditure Plan is available on the county’s website.
