Fresno leaders back transportation tax plan for November ballot

Fresno residents would keep paying the county’s half-cent transportation sales tax under the Better Roads, Safe Streets plan, but the money would be steered into a new spending formula if voters approve it in November. The Fresno City Council voted 7-0 on June 18 to formally support the measure, giving Mayor Jerry Dyer and city leaders a unified push behind one of two competing plans to replace Measure C.

Supporters say the proposal would generate about $7.4 billion over 30 years. Published allocation materials say 65% would go to neighborhood streets and roads repair and maintenance, 25% to public transportation, 5% to regional connectivity, 4% to access and innovation, and 1% to administration and oversight. That makes the political pitch clear: keep the tax in place, but use it more aggressively for visible repairs, transit service and complete-streets work across Fresno County.

The bigger question for voters is whether the county can turn another long-term transportation tax into concrete results. Measure C has deep roots in Fresno County politics. Voters first approved the half-cent sales tax in November 1986 by 57.6%, collection began on July 1, 1987, and an extension won approval in November 2006. Fresno Council of Governments materials describe Measure C as the largest transportation public works project in county history. The current tax is set to expire in June 2027 if it is not renewed.

Before the measure reaches the ballot, campaign organizers still had to clear a signature hurdle. County election officials moved Better Roads, Safe Streets to a full count after a random sample and duplicate-signature review, after reports said supporters had submitted roughly 32,000 signatures and needed just under 22,000 valid signatures to qualify. That process underscored how tight the race for November had become, with the county’s transportation tax debate now centered on at least two competing successor measures.

The fight is ultimately about priorities. Fresno leaders backing Better Roads, Safe Streets are betting voters want a plan that puts more of the existing tax toward potholes, sidewalks, school-zone safety and bus service. But with another Measure C successor still in play, residents will have to decide whether this proposal is a credible fix for decades of deferred work or another broad promise attached to a familiar half-cent tax.