FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) — Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer and City Council President Nelson Esparza announced a plan Thursday to keep transportation funding in place, after the countywide Measure C renewal effort failed.
The proposal would ask Fresno voters to approve a half-cent city sales tax in November.
City leaders say it would replace expiring Measure C funding for road repairs, public transit and other transportation projects.
Councilmember Mike Karbassi stressed the proposal would not raise the city’s current sales tax rate.
This is not going to increase taxes,
Karbassi said.
Instead, officials say the measure would maintain the existing half-cent transportation tax. They say the funding is needed to avoid cuts to city services when Measure C revenue expires.
The proposal comes after the Fresno County Board of Supervisors voted not to place a countywide Measure C renewal on the November ballot.
Dyer said the city could not wait for another county effort.
“We’re not going to let them determine whether or not we pave our roads. We’re not going to allow them determine whether or not we keep people safe. We’re not going to allow them to determine whether or not we’re able to provide reliable transportation to the people of Fresno,” Dyer said.
In those remarks, Dyer was referring to the Fresno County Board of Supervisors.
Esparza said city leaders had only a short window to develop an alternative before the election deadline.
This general tax is really the only pathway we could see here in the short term and the very few days that we had between when the Board of Supervisors voted that measure down and our last meeting,
Esparza explained.
City officials warned that losing the funding could affect street maintenance, Fresno Area Express bus service and transportation projects. Dyer also said the city could eventually face staffing reductions if voters reject the measure:
We don’t want to lay off employees.
We don’t want to go backwards on our road conditions, and we certainly don’t want to go backwards in all the achievements that we’ve had over the years in terms of public safety,” Mayor Dyer said. “But all of those have the potential to be severely impacted if we don’t pass this measure.”
The proposed tax would expire after 10 years or sooner if voters approve a future countywide transportation tax, Mayor Dyer said.
The Fresno City Council is expected to consider placing the measure on the November 2026 ballot at its next meeting.
If approved by the council, the measure would go before Fresno voters. Because it is a general tax, it would require a simple majority, 50% plus one vote, to pass.