Carmageddon: Metro board to hold public hearing for own sales tax measure for November ballot, separate from citizens’ initiative

Even as the citizens group Friends of Santa Cruz Metro nears its required signature threshold to get a half-cent sales tax measure to fund Reimagine Metro service expansions, the transit agency’s board is considering placing a measure on the ballot itself.

That’s in part because new state legislation could prevent the citizens’ initiative process from being any more beneficial than a board voting to place a measure on a ballot.

At its Friday meeting, Santa Cruz Metro’s board of directors approved a move to introduce an ordinance to place a half-cent sales tax ballot measure on the November ballot in order to open up as many avenues to finding a local funding source as possible. Since the Reimagine program’s launch, Metro ridership has shot up by more than 70%, and the Youth Cruz Free program, which is also in jeopardy of discontinuation, has resulted in a quadrupling of youth ridership.

This decision comes a day after new state legislation was introduced that could greatly alter the effectiveness of a citizens’ initiative. Assembly Constitutional Amendment 22 (ACA 22), if passed, would require special taxes to receive two-thirds approval from the electorate, even if does qualify for a ballot via citizens’ initiative, which currently requires only a simple majority approval. Santa Cruz Metro is a special district, which means that the Friends of Santa Cruz Metro initiative would be affected. ACA 22 itself needs a simple majority to pass in November.

The board will hold a public hearing on the proposed measure next month. If the board adopts the ordinance, it would go in August to the county board of supervisors, who could move to put it on the November ballot. This would not stop the process of collecting signatures for a citizens’ initiative. Rather, it would give the transit agency two chances to secure a funding source.

The most recent polling to gauge public support for a sales-tax increase shows that the percentage of the electorate in favor ranges from the high 50s to low 60s, which is well beneath what a potential measure would require to pass. That led to hesitancy from some board members.

“We’re going to give almost $1 million out of our budget to fund a campaign that we know is going to fail. Personally, I feel this is fiscally irresponsible,” said board member and Watsonville City Councilmember Jimmy Dutra, referring to the election cost estimates for Metro, which could be more than $868,000. “Of course we want to see Metro succeed and we want to have all the services that we are giving out, but we have to live in reality as well, and reality is telling us this is not going to pass.”

Dutra also said that the cost of living continues to rise, and South County families have noticeably lower household incomes than those in many other parts of the county, worrying him about how South County residents would be affected.

Board chair and District 1 County Supervisor Manu Koenig said he would not support the move, preferring to stay focused on one major push rather than two separate campaigns.

“I do feel that we should consolidate our efforts into one election, our best chance being in 2028,” he said. “I fully support a new revenue measure for this agency at some point, and I fully believe in the work that we’ve done through Reimagine Metro, and the public does as well given the huge increase in ridership and favorability ratings.”

Dutra and Koenig, however, were the only board members to vote “no” on introducing the ordinance. Those in support did not feel it was wise to close the door on this option, given how badly the agency needs a local funding source.

“It seems our options are narrowing by the day, and we’ll be forced to make harder and harder decisions because we failed to act,” said board vice chair and Capitola City Councilmember Melinda Orbach. “It’s clear to me if we don’t act now, we’ll lose our only option to bring this before the voters this November.”

Board member Rebecca Downing said the board considered putting a sales-tax ballot measure to the voters in 2024, but there was pressure to hold off, particularly from the City of Santa Cruz.

“We probably should have gone ahead and done it. So, it sucks, but we’re kind of trying to catch up to that,” she said.

The board will hold a special public meeting on the proposed measure on July 13.

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Here’s what’s happening this week on our roadways:

• Utility and shoulder work is shutting down one lane in various sections of Highway 9 from Monday through Friday between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. Those sections are between Graham Hill Road/Bennett Street and San Lorenzo Way, Lorenzo Avenue and Alameda Avenue, and Spring Creek Road and Riverside Drive.

• Bridge work is shutting down alternating lanes of Highway 9 in Boulder Creek between Pool Drive and Old County Highway and Riverdale Park and Monaco Lane until April 30, 2027.

• Roadway excavation is shutting down the southbound Highway 1 on-ramp at Park Avenue in Capitola until Aug. 19 at 7 a.m.

• There is a six-week closure of the southbound auxiliary lane of Highway between Soquel Drive in Live Oak and 41st Avenue in Capitola due to guardrail work.

• Emergency sewer work in Soquel Village could occasionally block access to driveways, sidewalks, on-street parking and interrupt sewer service on weekdays until June 30, on Soquel Drive, Porter Street and Main Street. Work on Soquel Drive will be overnight from 8:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Porter and Main streets. Shorter-duration pothole repair work on Porter, Main and Center streets and Daubenbiss Avenue will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

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