This story is produced from an episode of KVPR’s Central Valley Daily podcast. Listen to all episodes here, and wherever you get your podcasts. Central Valley Daily is supported by the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative. If you have a story idea, email podcast@kvpr.org.
FRESNO, Calif. - As Fresno County continues to grow, so do the questions about how to maintain and improve the roads, transit, and emerging technologies to keep up.
For almost 40 years, the county’s solution has been to task residents with helping pay for these projects though a sales tax known as Measure C. The county is now looking at renewing the tax before it expires in 2027. An effort to do this failed in 2022. The current effort is to get it on the 2026 ballot.
And one big focus in the renewal process is not just what the measure has accomplished in the past four decades, but what it could fund in the years to come.
Robert Phipps, Executive Director of the Fresno Council of Governments, recently hinted that a continued tax measure will have to contend with a future that is getting more technologically advanced.
Phipps spoke with KVPR for an episode of the Central Valley Daily podcast.
“We have autonomous vehicles, we have AI that are on the horizon,” Phipps says. “What is our transportation network going to look like in 20 years, and how do we plan for that?”
He says, if renewed, the half-cent sales tax could also support projects far beyond road repairs and highway expansions. As resident priorities evolve, transportation projects could include more public transit, building a regional trail system, and even build infrastructure that adapts to autonomous vehicles.
Measure C has many stakeholders
Measure C was first approved in 1986 and has since raised about $2.1 billion in the county. On top of that money, state and federal funding have given an additional $8 billion to supplement the funds raised locally.
“The state and federal government want to see that…if they’re going to invest in your system, they need you to have skin in the game,” Phipps said. “That’s what Measure C has afforded us… the opportunity to front load these projects.”
The Fresno Council of Governments (COG) is made up of elected officials from Fresno County and its different cities – large and small. The agency is primarily responsible for coordinating regional planning efforts around transportation and overseeing the implementation of programs like Measure C.
Since its existence, the measure has fueled Fresno County’s growth. It has helped fund freeway expansions like the braided ramps project in the middle of Fresno – which help ferry drivers to different directions on highways including Highway 180, 41 and 168.
The measure has also funded bike lane projects, public buses, and road maintenance in rural towns that may not have the budget for the upkeep otherwise.
In its early days, Measure C funds were split evenly, according to Phipps: half went to regional projects like highways, and half was dedicated to road maintenance.
Community input at heart of priorities
By 2022, the distribution of the funds included bike and walking trails and public transit. These changes were mainly added through community feedback. That year, a proposed renewal of the measure faced backlash and ultimately failed with only 58% of Fresno County residents supporting the tax. It needed to get approval by at least 66% of voters.
Local community leaders argued that the renewal process did not reflect the priorities of Fresno County residents and lacked transparency. There were disagreements over how the funds would be distributed between large and smaller communities.
There’s no telling what streets or transportation infrastructure could look like if Measure C is not renewed.
But Phipps says that different communities have benefitted from the tax in different ways. Likewise, if the tax didn’t exist, bigger cities could likely fund their own projects, while smaller cities may not be able to do the same. Each household in Fresno County pays – on average – between $4 to $8 a month on the tax.
“The [Measure C] money gets spread around over time,” Phipps says. “Everybody gets something for the money that they’re putting in. Everybody gets their money back.”
As the Measure C renewal process is underway, county officials are hosting community workshops to gather input from local residents across the region.
