Three quarters of 300 San Benito County registered voters surveyed last month expressed support for potential a half-cent sales tax increase that would fund a range of county transportation improvements, including road repair, widening of Highway 25, improved transit and bike and pedestrian safety. Eight in 10 respondents said there is a need for additional transportation funding for the county.
The results of the survey, conducted by EMC Research for the San Benito County Council of Governments (COG), were presented to the county board of supervisors on April 21. The survey, conducted in English and Spanish, was meant to be “a first step on the road to whether we should think about a (sales tax increase) measure for 2016,” said Ruth Bernstein of EMC. She said the poll was not to determine ballot language, but rather to gauge whether voters would be amenable to paying for local transportation improvements.
According to the report to the board, voters support a “broad-based transportation measure that targets improvements to a variety of issues.” Those with the highest support include:
- Maintaining roads and repairing potholes (87 percent high priority; 55 percent very high priority)
- Improving transportation for youth, seniors and people with disabilities (68 percent high priority; 35 percent very high priority)
- Widening Highway 25 (66 percent high priority; 41 percent very high priority)
Bernstein said there “definitely was some hesitation” among respondents when the idea of funding transportation improvements with higher taxes was broached, though that concern was mitigated a bit by the idea of a tax that outlines particular projects and includes accountability.
When one group of respondents was asked if they would vote on a sales tax increase strictly to fund the widening of Highway 25 between Hollister and the Santa Clara County line, 65 percent said they would vote yes and 34 percent said they’d vote no. When another group was asked whether they’d support a tax increase to fund a range of projects including Highway 25, support jumped to 75 percent.
“Our suggestion is we start considering an expenditure plan that would consider other projects as well,” not just the well-traveled commuter corridor heading north from Hollister, said Bernstein.
The idea of raising taxes to fund transportation was supported by 83 percent of 18-49-year-olds and 88 percent of Democrats. There was lower support among Republicans, though still a majority: 55 percent.
Bernstein said her firm would recommend a potential tax increase to hit the ballot in June of 2016, so messaging about the benefits of the tax does not get lost amid the presidential campaigning leading up to the November election next year.
The long-discussed widening of Highway 25 is a project that is not on the state’s so-called “constrained list” of projects that has priority for funding. Local officials, including Supervisor Anthony Botelho, believe the project could return to that list if it was at least partially supported by a local funding measure, such as a sales tax.
“There’s not a lot of money in half cent or a full cent (sales tax),” he said. “Very minimal for main roads. If we’re going to put something on the ballot in 2016, we better get off the stick” and decide whether a sales tax increase would be designated for transportation or for general use. “We need to make that decision yesterday,” he added, noting that the county and city of Hollister need to be on the same page when it comes to transportation projects. “If we’re not working together, we don’t deserve the public’s trust.”
Supervisor Jerry Muenzer agreed that a sales tax designated for transportation would be “one important step” to get Highway 25 back on the constrained list of projects. “We need a sales tax measure to be part of the funding mechanism along with an increase in the traffic impact fees to facilitate” the designation. He then asked that the discussion of a potential sales tax be put on the next board agenda to give COG some direction on whether to move forward with a funding proposal.
Jaime DeLaCruz, who represents Hollister’s west side, said his constituents’ transportation interests include fixing sidewalks, creating bike paths and repairing roads and potholes. He also noted that he wants to make sure any improvements don’t skip that section of town, which he said often gets shortchanged.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents to the poll commute and at least half of those travel outside of the county for work, which EMC Research said factored in to the support for road improvements. “While relatively few voters currently use public transit (6 percent use it occasionally or frequently), there is an interest in transit projects,” EMC reported, “especially among northbound commuters.” Nearly 70 percent of commuters to Santa Clara County say improving bus service to the Bay Area should be a high priority, while 63 percent say adding a commuter train service is a high priority.