Cities, county try again for road tax; Newman, Riverbank, Turlock to weigh in

By GARTH STAPLEY
gstapley@modbee.com

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They managed to avoid bone-jarring potholes and negotiate dangerous curves on a perilous drive up a steep hill.

Good work, so far. But the real mountain lies ahead.

The hill: nine city managers and Stanislaus County's top administrator devising, then agreeing on, a new proposal for a countywide sales tax increase for better roads and smoother-flowing traffic. And persuading six city councils to go along. All in less than one month.

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Interactive: Transportation tax proposal projects, votes
What they said
TRANSPORTATION SALES TAX PROPOSAL
- WHAT: A half-cent sales tax increase, bringing the tax in Stanislaus County to 7.875 percent.
- WHO: All Stanislaus County voters would have a chance to weigh in.
- WHEN: Six city councils have endorsed the effort. If the remaining three -- Riverbank, Newman and Turlock -- agree in meetings Monday and Tuesday, Stanislaus Council of Governments policy board members on Wednesday would commit $400,000 for a consultant to do some polling, to update environmental studies and to conduct public outreach. The Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors would aim to meet an August ballot deadline for a November ballot measure.
- WHY: Area roads are deteriorating while growth brings more traffic and air pollution, supporters say. The tax would pay for road repairs and widening projects and would help officials leverage state and federal transportation money. Opponents say taxpayers' burden already is too heavy.
- WHERE: A much higher percentage -- half of all money raised -- would go to each city than proposed in 2006's Measure K. The other half would be evenly split between major east-west road-widening projects in the north, central and south parts of the county.

The mountain: convincing voters throughout the county that it's essential to raise the tax.

Supporters would have until November, marking two years since a similar push failed to convert two-thirds of voters.

They'll hold off on shifting into overdrive for the mountain ahead. If any of three city councils yet to consider the issue backs away in the next two days, the whole deal falls apart. And one of those councils -- Turlock's -- presents a particularly independent-minded wild card.

The mood among many participants, given their dizzying success in the past four weeks, is upbeat. They are crossing fingers in anticipation of smiles and handshakes at Wednesday's milestone meeting of their regional transportation agency, the Stanislaus Council of Governments.

"(The tax hike) has a slim chance now, if all the stars align," Oakdale Mayor Farrell Jackson said. "But everyone believes if we have even one city on the outside, it won't have a chance at all."

That's an interesting perspective from the leader of the

only city that refused to endorse Measure K in 2006, when nearly 58 percent of the county's voters agreed to a higher sales tax -- less than the 66.7 percent needed for passage.

Things are different now. For example, Oakdale's leaders are on board.

Also, supporters are ditching the out-of-town expert they hired before, who they think provided bad advice by urging elected officials to distance themselves from the issue. They endorsed the plan but did not actively campaign.

They've shortened the higher tax's lifetime, from 30 years to 20.

Roads throughout the county continue to deteriorate, and traffic is stacking up. That's got to mean something when voters check their ballots come November, the theory goes.

And between now and then, voters would examine a different set of promises on how the extra money would be spent:

FOCUS ON LOCAL ROADS -- The 2006 wish list was heavy on regional projects, reserving nearly 66 percent of proceeds. The current list cuts that to half, significantly boosting the share available for each city to fix and improve neighborhood streets.

Also, the old list showed upgrades to seven interchanges on Highway 99 and Interstate 5. Critics said those projects are the state's responsibility. The current plan shows improvements to only one interchange in Ceres.

FOCUS ON EAST-WEST CORRIDORS -- Each of three regional projects would receive about $117 million, one each in the north, center and south parts of the county.

A south county dream to improve the path from Turlock to Interstate 5 is this year's major addition to the 2006 plan. Turlock's future industrial park stands to gain much. But critics of Gerry Kamilos' vision of developing a gargantuan business park near Crows Landing say the tax increase is little more than a veiled subsidy.

County officials still hope to widen State Route 219, or Kiernan Avenue, from Highway 99 to the northeast part of the county. But since 2006, they've consolidated support from Modesto, Riverbank and Oakdale and now show a new stretch of expressway, an extension of Kiernan, linking to Highway 108 near Lovers Leap.