FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — On Thursday night, the Fresno City Council approved a new General Fund Sales Tax to help fill the gap left by the county’s decades-old Measure C transportation tax, which is set to expire next year.<\/p>\n
Impassioned pleas made during the public comment portion of Thursday’s council meeting centered largely around Measure C’s replacement tax. Council members voted 6-1 to place the general fund sales tax on the November 3rd ballot.<\/p>\n
Measure C, a 40-year measure, is set to expire in June of next year.<\/p>\n
Exactly a week ago, the City of Fresno introduced a new general fund sales tax that could be used to fill the gap left behind when Measure C sunsets.<\/p>\n
The introduction of the new proposal made after the Fresno County Board of Supervisors stalled a Measure C replacement tax, which likely won’t reach ballots until 2028 if approved.<\/p>\n
The general fund is the City’s solution to the $54 million gap. Those funds would go toward city transportation services with some money left over.<\/p>\n
It would replace the half-cent Measure C tax and would keep the city’s sales tax to 8.35 percent.<\/p>\n
During Thursday’s council meeting, Mayor Jerry Dyer explained dozens of city workers could lose their jobs, and public transit could be impacted without it.<\/p>\n
“It’s going to affect me directly, because my bus is going to take longer. Buses, they’re going to lay off drivers. And I felt the urge, and my veterans are getting free ride, and people with disabilities, like me and seniors, are going be affected. So that’s why I showed up, because I felt like this is my fight. This is my everyday life, especially in the last 20 years. You know, it hasn’t been easy, you know, bus ride, especially in this heat. You know, it’s very hot to have a bus, wait an hour. It’s hard enough to wait a half hour,” said veterans advocate Yonas Paulos.<\/p>\n
The new measure was announced following a major blow on July 14, when the Fresno County Board of Supervisors ruled the Better Roads, Safe Streets initiative needed additional review and would likely not meet the deadline required to get on this November’s ballot.<\/p>\n
Mayor Dyer has said the Better Roads, Safe Streets has until August 7 to head to the November ballot, if approved he will veto the measure that passed on Thursday.<\/p>\n
If voters support the new general fund sales tax measure this fall, those living in Fresno will see that tax go into effect starting July 1, 2027.<\/p>\n
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