Merced council supports putting half-cent tax on the ballot

The Merced City Council unanimously approved putting a proposed countywide half-cent sales tax on the November ballot, saying Monday the county can’t compete for state or federal funding against “self-help” counties.

City leaders said those counties, which have matching dollars to pair with state or federal grants, are put at the front of the line for transportation dollars.

“By the time they get to us, there is no money,” Councilman Tony Dossetti said.

The proposed half-cent tax is estimated to generate $1.5 million a year in the city of Merced, and $45 million over its 30-year lifespan. Countywide, it’s $15 million a year and $450 million in three decades.

Leaders pointed to other counties, such as Fresno and Madera, which they say receive dollars to fix roads and build highways more often than Merced. For example, the Tulare County Transportation Authority said in February it has collected $1 billion in transportation funding in its first decade as a self-help county.

Marjie Kern, the executive director of Merced County Association of Governments, said the county needs an estimated $380 million to maintain roads through 2040.

Detractors have said the proposed tax shows area leaders lack imagination when it comes to problem-solving and that the transportation money would fall short of the area’s needs.

Councilman Michael Belluomini said Merced can’t afford to repair its 400 miles of roads, and residents are calling for a fix. “The complaints I get most often from constituents is, ‘Can’t you do something about our roads? They’re falling apart,’ ” he said.

Last month, the county and the city of Atwater also voted to put the measure on the November ballot.

It would take approval votes from any two other councils from Dos Palos, Gustine, Livingston or Los Banos to put the measure on the ballot. However, since the measure would need a 67 percent approval to pass, advocates surely would benefit from as much support as possible.

Multiple leaders in the area have said they’ve found themselves in a foreign position, advocating for a new tax. Mayor Stan Thurston seconded that sentiment.

“I’m the last person on Earth that wants to propose raising taxes,” he said, “but nobody’s given me any other alternatives on how we’re supposed to get this done.”

This story was originally published May 3, 2016 at 4:06 PM with the headline "Merced council supports putting half-cent tax on the ballot."