Los Banos mayor opposes proposed half-cent tax for transportation

A proposal to implement a half-cent sales tax to fund transportation projects in Merced County has won support from several community leaders, but Los Banos Mayor Mike Villalta says he won’t be among them.

During a meeting Thursday to discuss the proposed tax, Villalta said he will not endorse putting the proposal on the November ballot without firm guarantees that western Merced County will receive a fair portion of the proceeds.

“My job is to make sure that, if we are going to vote for funds, those funds are going to be spent on the Westside,” he said.

Villalta was one in a modest crowd who attended an informational meeting in Los Banos, where Merced County Association of Governments leaders explained the plan.

It is estimated that the proposed half-cent tax would generate $767,000 a year in Los Banos and $23 million over its 30-year lifespan. Countywide, it would be $15 million a year and $450 million over three decades.

So far, the move to put the sales tax measure before voters in November has won support from leaders of Atwater, Gustine, Merced and Merced County.

Leaders around the county have said they are not excited about adding taxes, but that it could be a solution to pay for regional projects and fix deteriorating roads.

Marjie Kern, executive director of the association, said educating people about the measure has not won her any friends. But, she said, becoming a “self-help” county gives Merced the best chance to win state grant money for large projects.

“I know it sucks,” she said, speaking to the audience. “You have to tax yourself to get your own taxes back ... but it’s the way the game is played.”

There are 18 self-help counties in the state, which hold 85 percent of the state’s residents, according to Kern.

Advocates have 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.

Villalta said he’s not sold that the plan would benefit the Westside. Los Banos would be better off passing its own half-cent sales tax within the city limit, he said. The city would pull in an estimated $2.4 million, dwarfing its $767,000 a year from the county plan, he said.

He also takes exception to language in the county measure that would split the regional project dollars into two pots of $122 million for the east side and $77 million for the western region. Regional committees made up of county supervisors and elected city officials on either side of the county would decide how that money is spent on regional projects.

But ultimately, the association’s board gets the final approval and could override the west side’s recommendations. Villalta said that’s not acceptable because the board has a history of moving money originally allocated to his city’s biggest project, the Los Banos Bypass, a more than $430 million addition to divert Highway 152 traffic around the city.

The association exists to make regional project decisions, so it’s required by law to take the decisive vote, according to MCAG officials.

Villalta said he also questions the plans because there is no official list of projects, and he wants more dollars aimed at local roads.

The Los Banos mayor may be in the minority in pushing back against the measure. Gustine city leaders and elected officials voiced their support for the tax during the meeting Thursday.

Almost $250,000 a year could go a long way to fixing city streets in Gustine, a town of about 5,800. Councilwoman Ellen Hasness said she was pleased with the regional split that promises money on that end of the county.

“Often the Westside is sort of the last one to be thought of,” she said.

This story was originally published May 6, 2016 at 7:07 PM with the headline "Los Banos mayor opposes proposed half-cent tax for transportation."