Modesto considers lending support to countywide road tax

The Modesto City Council on Tuesday will consider asking the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors to put a one-half percent countywide transportation tax on the November ballot.

As part of that effort, the council will consider approving the spending plan for the proposed tax – which is expected to bring in $960 million over its 25-year life – and spending $163,500 for Modesto’s share of a $450,000 public education and outreach campaign for the tax.

The Stanislaus Council of Governments – a regional transportation agency which is governed by elected officials from the county and its nine cities – has been working on bringing a transportation tax to the ballot. Previous measures in 2006 and 2008 failed.

The $960 million is how much the tax is expected to bring in countywide, and the county and its nine cities would share that on a proportionate basis.

Twenty-eight percent of the tax would be spent on regional projects, such as a proposed north county expressway; 50 percent on local streets and roads; 10 percent on traffic management; 5 percent on bicycle and pedestrian projects; and 7 percent on other projects, such as public transit and specialized transportation services for seniors and the disabled.

The council also will hold a workshop at its meeting to discuss Modesto’s proposed $361 million operating budget for the 2016-17 fiscal year, which starts July 1.

The budget includes Mayor Ted Brandvold’s proposal to allocate an additional $2.5 million to the Police Department for hiring 22 officers, which would increase the department’s allocation from 218 to 240. The mayor proposes paying for this through budget cuts and new anticipated revenue.

But at last week’s meeting, council members Bill Zoslocki, Jenny Kenoyer and Doug Ridenour asked whether the plan was financially sustainable and wanted to learn more about it and underlying assumptions.

The council meets at 5:30 p.m. in the basement chamber of Tenth Street Place, 1010 10th St.

This story was originally published June 12, 2016 at 4:49 PM with the headline "Modesto considers lending support to countywide road tax."