REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: GEORGEANNE A. WHITE, City Manager
Office of the Mayor & City Manager
BY: GREGORY A. BARFIELD, Assistant City Manager
Office of the Mayor & City Manager
SCOTT L. MOZIER, PE, Director
Public Works Department
SUBJECT
Title
***RESOLUTION - In support of the Measure C Renewal Expenditure Plan and implementation guidelines (Subject to Mayor’s Veto).
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends approval of the Resolution, in support of the Measure C Renewal Expenditure Plan and Implementing Guidelines.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Measure C is the ½ cent sales tax for transportation in Fresno County. Originally adopted in 1986, Measure C was extended in 2006 and is set to expire in 2027.
On June 30, the Fresno COG Policy Board was scheduled to consider and adopt the draft Renewal Expenditure Plan, but due to technical difficulties, plan consideration was delayed to July 7
Concurrently, City of Fresno staff and the City Council’s Transportation Subcommittee held a series of meetings with City and Fresno COG/FCTA staff to discuss potential changes to the plan adopted by the EC and TWG.
Those discussions culminated with a meeting held on the morning of July 7 when the City furnished Fresno COG and FCTA staff with a plan revision that closely followed the EC and TWG plan. This plan retained the overall framework of the EC/TWG plan but made important changes to how some of the funds were distributed and made certain policy additions to the EC/TWG plan.
On July 12, 2022, the Fresno County Board of Supervisors also considered and approved the plan adopted by Fresno COG.
On July 20, 2022, the FCTA Board considered and adopted the EC/TWG modified plan and asked each City Council to be afforded an opportunity to have the plan presented and voted upon before placed on the ballot by the Board of Supervisors on August 12th in a Special Meeting.
With approval by the voters, this new plan will bring over $2.88 billion to the City of Fresno and allow the City to improve streets and sidewalks across all council districts, enhance transit services, add active transportation facilities, improve air quality, reduce congestion, and improve safety. It will address the transportation needs in disadvantaged areas within the City and throughout Fresno County. It is good for the City of Fresno, and for each of the cities, communities, and unincorporated areas in Fresno County.
The Fresno County Board of Supervisors will be meeting tomorrow to place this the Measure C Renewal on the ballot in a special meeting taking into consideration all the incorporated cities support of similar resolutions voted in in the last two weeks.
BACKGROUND
Measure C is the ½ cent sales tax for transportation in Fresno County. Originally adopted in 1986, Measure C was extended in 2006 and is set to expire in 2027. In August of 2019, the Fresno County Transportation Authority (FCTA) Board authorized staff to begin efforts to renew Measure C with a target date of November 2022 to place the renewal measure on the ballot. Part of that effort included the establishment of two committees; an Executive Committee (EC) made up of government, industry, business, health, and community advocacy leaders, and a Technical Working Group (TWG) made up of agency staff, technical experts, and modal and community advocates. These two committees were charged with evaluating transportation needs, identifying other transportation funding sources, gathering public input, and developing a draft Expenditure Plan for consideration by Fresno Council of Governments (Fresno COG) and FCTA.
The COVID-19 outbreak delayed the initial start of renewal efforts, which were eventually initiated in January of 2021. Over the 18 months since that start date, the two committees met a total of 42 times. After settling on final membership and learning about the two existing measures, the committees developed a draft allocation plan based upon needs, available finding, and public input. This draft plan was approved by both committees by a wide margin in April and May of 2022. The City of Fresno was represented on each of these committees.
On June 15, 2022, Fresno COG and FCTA staff presented the outline of the EC/TWG approved draft expenditure plan framework developed by the TWG and EC to the Fresno Council as an informational item.
On June 30, the Fresno COG Policy Board was scheduled to consider and adopt the draft Expenditure Plan, but due to technical difficulties, plan consideration was delayed to July 7.
Concurrently, City of Fresno staff and the City Council’s Transportation Subcommittee held a series of meetings with City and Fresno COG/FCTA staff to discuss potential changes to the plan adopted by the EC and TWG.
Those discussions culminated with a meeting held on the morning of July 7 when the City furnished Fresno COG and FCTA staff with a plan revision that closely followed the EC and TWG plan. This plan retained the overall framework of the EC/TWG plan but made important changes to how some of the funds were distributed and made certain policy additions to the EC/TWG plan.
If these changes were to be adopted, each of the 15 cities in Fresno County would get slightly more funding (approximately 5% to 20% with the smallest cities experiencing the largest percentage increases) while Fresno County would receive about $187 million less over the life of the Measure.
These changes accomplish a number of key goals and objectives important to the City of Fresno. These include:
• Increase funding allocations to Fresno and the other incorporated cities within Fresno County to better reflect each city’s percentage of the population
• Increase the amount of Local Control funding Fresno and the other cities receive, which allows for additional flexibility to increase funding for public transit, active transportation, or other critical transportation priorities
• Allow increased connectivity for City residents living west of State Route 99, including reduced Public Safety response
On July 7, 2022, the Fresno COG Policy Board considered the City’s revised proposal and voted to approve the EC/TWG plan, as modified by the City of Fresno.
On July 12, 2022, the Fresno County Board of Supervisors also considered and approved the plan adopted by Fresno COG.
On July 20, 2022, the FCTA Board considered and adopted the EC/TWG modified plan and asked each City Council to be afforded an opportunity to have the plan presented and voted upon before placed on the ballot by the Board of Supervisors on August 12th in a Special Meeting.
With approval by the voters, this new plan will bring over $2.88 billion to the City of Fresno and will allow the City to improve streets and sidewalks across all council districts, enhance transit services, add active transportation facilities, improve air quality, reduce congestion, and improve safety. It will address the transportation needs in disadvantaged areas within the City and throughout Fresno County. It is good for the City of Fresno, and for each of the cities, communities, and unincorporated areas in Fresno County. Fresno gets
Rehab $1,629.225,640
Flex $ 643,756,512
Active $ 34,818,109
Transit $ 568,367,100
Tier I $ 55,800,000
Airport $ 35,000,000
The Fresno County Board of Supervisors will be meeting tomorrow to place this the Measure C Renewal on the ballot in a special meeting taking into consideration all the incorporated cities support of similar resolutions voted in in the last two weeks.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
This resolution is not a project as defined by CEQA.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
N/A
FISCAL IMPACT
If approved by the voters on November 8, 2022, the City of Fresno is expected to receive over $2.9 billion dollars to support repairs of streets, roads, curb, gutter, sidewalk, Public Transit, Airport, and Active Transportation projects.
Attachments: Exhibit A: Expenditure Plan (final of July 20, 2022)
Exhibit B: Resolution supporting Measure C Renewal Expenditure Plan