Fresno — Supporters of Fresno County’s half-cent sales tax for transportation are taking to the streets to back the citizen-led ballot initiative less than two months away from election day.
If passed by voters, the Fresno County Transportation Improvement Act — now known as Measure S — would generate about $7.4 billion over the course of 30 years for transportation and infrastructure split between the county and its 15 incorporated cities. Fresno County mayors, educators, labor leaders and public safety officials appeared at a press conference on Sept. 9 to kick off the Yes on Measure S campaign.
“Measure S keeps local tax dollars here, prioritizing projects residents say matter most,” Veronica Garibay said, co-executive director of the Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability, in a statement.
The Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability is a law firm in Fresno campaigning for Measure S.
The ballot measure follows two years of intense debate and a legal battle between the Fresno County Board of Supervisors and state lawmakers. While county officials pushed for more time to conduct an impact study — pushing the item back to the 2028 presidential primary election — Fresno Superior Court Judge Jonathan Skiles ruled on Aug. 31 that the measure must appear on the November ballot following the passing of Assembly Bill 1923.
Measure S would succeed the current countywide transportation sales tax known as Measure C. Originally passed in 1984, the sales tax gave 25% of revenue directly to cities and the county, while remaining funds were used for highway projects, according to the Fresno County Transportation Authority.
Measure C was renewed in 2006 with new funding allocations: revenue was split between 24% for the regional public transit program, 34.6% for local transportation program, 30.4% for regional transportation, 9.5% for two special programs and 1.5% for administration and planning expenses.
Measure C is currently active and will expire in June 2027.
In 2022, the board of supervisors failed to renew the measure after struggling to secure a two-thirds majority threshold, motivating a campaign from the Fresno Council of Governments Policy Board to open the renewal process and elect a dedicated steering committee.
However, county board members and city mayors often butt heads on where funding should be allocated, with many split on whether more funding should move towards local roads and public transit over regional connectivity projects.
To place a county measure on the ballot, the board of supervisors must approve the item during their meeting. However, Board Chair Garry Bredefeld said he would not add the item until all 15 city councils across the county considered it, in line with the county’s common practice for ballot measures.
With the deadline to add a ballot measure quickly approaching and agreement far from reach, the COG voted to abandon its campaign to support Measure C.
Moving Forward Together — a coalition of community-based organizations and elected officials — picked up the initiative as a citizen-led ballot measure, which secured the minimum number of signatures needed to put the item on the ballot.
This new community-led transportation sales tax would allocate 65% of funds to local streets, such as fixing potholes and improving communities. Of the funds, 25% would go to public transportation operations, including Fresno Area Express, Clovis Bus System and other rural transit routes, while 5% would be dedicated to regional projects improving transit between communities, 4% to innovation projects and 1% for administrative costs.
Opponents of the measure say that the county can “do better” for the community, and criticized key provisions in the item that limit where funding can be spent.
Reedley Mayor Matthew Tuttle, who is among the group of Fresno County officials who oppose the measure, argued that the item is still lacking input from important community players, including local city staff across the more rural areas of the county.
“It was put together in bad faith, and the proponents shut out a number of people from the discussions,” Tuttle said in an interview. “I’m not one to just settle with ‘this is good enough,’ and we can definitely do better.”
While he noted that Measure C makes up part of Reedley’s transportation funding, he added that those dollars do not make up the “majority,” and assured that the city of Reedley is prepared for either outcome in the case of Measure S.
Measure S needs over 50% of the vote to pass. If the initiative fails to pass, Fresno County could lose billions in estimated tax revenue generated between 2027 and 2057, after Measure C expires in 2027.
The county could also be forced to lay off 90 employees, including road crew members, engineers and inspectors, according to Bernard Jimenez, Assistant Director of the Fresno County Department of Public Works and Planning.
“Over those next 55 days, hundreds of volunteers — including the teachers, nurses, workers, business leaders and over 50 local community-based organizations who are all supporting the measure — will work tirelessly to ensure every single registered voter in Fresno County hears from us directly on the merits of this citizen-led measure,” campaign manager Andy Levine said in a statement.
Fresno County voters will be able to vote on Measure S on Nov. 3, and will begin receiving ballots in the mail in less than a month.
