Sales Tax
RIVERSIDE (CNS) – No measures seeking Riverside County residents’ support for a sales tax hike to pay for countywide transportation projects will appear on the November ballot, but voters are being told last Friday to prepare to be asked in the future to say “yea” or “nay,” Riverside County Transportation Commission Chairman Lloyd White said.
“Now is not the time to seek voter approval on a new measure to fund the `2024 Traffic Relief Plan,’ but I think the time is coming soon,” Lloyd said.
The chairman, who is also the mayor of Beaumont, said the plan, which was presented to residents following surveys earlier this year, “shows we are listening to our residents and looking for ways to reduce traffic congestion, invest in public transportation, fill potholes and respond to natural disasters to keep our roads safe.”
According to RCTC, residents’ support for transportation projects is generally high, but it falls just shy of the two-thirds supermajority threshold required to approve a one-cent countywide sales tax measure.
The Traffic Relief Plan identified more than $30 billion in improvements to transportation infrastructure that should be incorporated into RCTC’s list of objectives over the long term.
The last time voters approved a countywide sales tax hike dedicated to transportation projects was in the early 1990s.
“The TRP’s proactive framework was designed to meet the region’s transportation needs based on the anticipated population and economic growth as predicted by the Southern California Association of Governments,” according to an RCTC statement. “Although the commission has decided not to place a sales tax measure on the 2024 General Election ballot, the improvements and investments identified in the TRP are ready to be implemented when funding becomes available.”
The plan contains a list of proposed region-wide investments, including the Riverside metropolitan area, Coachella Valley, Temecula Valley and San Gorgonio Pass.
The plan summary and descriptions of funding opportunities are available at www.rctc.org/traffic-relief-plan/.
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