Fresno County braces for heated vote on road tax measure

Three votes on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors could decide whether the Better Roads Safe Streets tax measure reaches the November 2026 ballot. The half-cent sales tax would cost shoppers 50 cents on every $100 in taxable purchases. The measure is intended to keep roads, transit and outside funding moving across Fresno County before the current transportation funding expires in 2027.

Measure C, first approved by voters in 1986, has generated about $2.1 billion in local revenue and leveraged roughly $8 billion more in state and federal money for transportation projects. Local tax dollars are the price of admission for those outside grants and matching funds.

The Better Roads Safe Streets proposal could raise $7.4 billion over 30 years. It is not the only option in the county’s long-running fight over roads and transit. A March proposal called Fix Our Roads would have run for 20 years and raised $3.9 billion. Another version discussed in November 2025 would have sent about 65% of revenues to local roads and 25% to public transit.

The ballot clock is tight. County clerk James Kus said the campaign needed validation of just shy of 22,000 of roughly 32,500 signatures submitted to qualify, with 21,909 required to move forward in time for the Aug. 7 deadline for local measures. If the board uses a study order or another procedural move to slow the measure, the fight could slip past 2026 and not return until 2028.

Supervisor Buddy Mendes has been one of the leading critics, while Board Chair Garry Bredefeld has been weighing a move that could delay the initiative. Transportation for All and the Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability have pushed to keep transit and equity in the package.