Sonoma County Transportation Authority board inches toward approving Measure M sales tax renewal in November election

Sonoma County transportation officials moved forward Monday with a plan to seek early renewal of a tax for road, bus, bicycle and pedestrian projects, setting up a vote later this month that could land the measure on the November ballot.

Representatives of the county’s nine cities and its Board of Supervisors voted 9-1 to fine-tune language in the proposed quarter-cent sales tax extension over the next two weeks in an attempt to garner greater support among interest groups.

The 12-member Sonoma County Transportation Authority board has been weighing whether to hit the throttle or slam the brakes on efforts to renew Measure M for another 20 years. Despite the sharp and sudden economic downturn resulting from the coronavirus shutdown, a clear majority of the group said they remain committed to the plan and favor placing the question before voters in the upcoming general election.

“I think we’re there, personally. I’m very confident we have about the best measure we can put together for a transit measure,” said Cotati Councilman Mark Landman, a transportation authority board member. “It may well be the greenest transportation projects the county will ever see to this point.”

But rather than formally advance the measure on Monday, the board granted staff a small window to incorporate final tweaks requested by competing environmental and road-focused groups. Building consensus — or at least avoiding creation of opposition to the proposal — is a key factor to ultimately passing the ballot measure with the required two-thirds majority, board members said.

“What the SCTA is trying to do is matching up the measure with what these groups hope to see, and we want the language to reflect that,” said Santa Rosa Councilman Chris Rogers, a board member. “I think there’s a way to thread the needle and get there, but we’re not there yet and it won’t pass if we don’t get there.”

If the measure is advanced by the board in two weeks at a scheduled special meeting, it would still need approval from a majority of the nine City Councils and Board of Supervisors - specifically those that represent a majority of the county’s population - to add it to the ballot. If that happens over the next two months, the item would return to the transportation board for final approval.

Measure M, which voters narrowly passed in 2004, has generated more than $298 million through February toward road projects and improving bus, bicycle and pedestrian connections throughout the county. But it expires in spring 2025 and the remaining revenues are already committed to existing or planned projects, requiring an early extension to use local funds to leverage future state and federal grants toward the next wave of infrastructure projects.

The new measure is projected to initially generate about $26 million per year, and a total of $670 million over its 20-year life. Measure M was originally expected to provide $470 million, but is now on target to deliver closer to $430 million under the current economic climate.

The transportation agency plans to conduct more public polling before its board comes to a final decision on the renewal in July. Responses should also help shape a potential campaign, which board members think will be critical to winning voters’ support.

“The biggest challenge in front of us is the campaign, and the polling,” said Supervisor David Rabbitt, a transportation board member. “I do think we’ll have a difficult time, with some questions of faith in government going on and the dire economic consequences going on and we should not be callous of that as we move forward.”

Two board members who favored pushing ahead missed the virtual meeting, and Windsor Councilman Sam Salmon, taking the recommendation of his council, was the lone dissenter.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated to include the correct Measure M sales tax revenues through February due to an error by Sonoma County Transportation Authority staff.

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin Fixler at 707-521-5336 or kevin.fixler@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @kfixler.