SMART to unveil key cost projections ahead of closely watched sales-tax decision

North Bay commuter rail officials are set to unveil Wednesday key financial projections for the buildout of the SMART line in northern Sonoma County.

The preliminary figures will be discussed in public for the first time by SMART’s board of directors as it weighs whether to seek early renewal in March of the sales tax that funds the system.

The agency’s new expenditure plan is expected to lay out the new cost of extending SMART service north of Windsor, to stations in Healdsburg and Cloverdale. SMART projections from earlier this year pegged the extension at $364 million.

The 12-member Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit board is confronting escalating debt costs tied to the system’s development as well as rising operational costs. Early renewal of the quarter-cent sales tax by voters in Sonoma and Marin counties would help reduce and restructure some of those financial burdens. The current tax measure, approved in 2008, is not set to expire for another decade.

Agency staff will present SMART directors with the preliminary financial figures and receive direction on how to move forward.

The public meeting takes place Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. at SMART headquarters, located at 5401 Old Redwood Highway in Petaluma.

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