Leaders to look over Measure A spending plan

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF REPORT

City leaders throughout Santa Barbara County are expected to approve spending plans for Measure A this week — approvals that are necessary to get the renewal of a half-cent sales tax that supports local and regional transportation projects on the November ballot.
Santa Barbara and Goleta city councils, as well as the County Board of Supervisors, are among the groups slated to look over the proposal during their meetings on Tuesday.

Support from the Board of Supervisors and city leaders representing a majority of the incorporated area population is necessary to place the renewal measure on the ballot.
If successful, the plan would dish out more than an estimated $1 billion on projects to relieve traffic congestion, maintain streets and roadways, and improve alternative transportation during the next 30 years.
After numerous meetings between government leaders, consultants and stakeholders, the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments on March 20 approved the Transportation Investment Plan — a broad outline of how future Measure A funds would be spent if approved by voters.
“The plan has been prepared to address important existing and future transportation needs in Santa Barbara County,” Jim Kemp, executive director of SBCAG, said in a letter to city officials. “It proposes a diverse program of transportation investments to address those needs while being sensitive to the regional differences within our county.”
Seen by many as a key aspect of the proposal is a split that allowed separate North and South County spending plans.
Committees representing each region worked with community, business and environmental leaders during the past year to reach consensus on how the money would be spent.
Other than a $145 million lump that would go to the Highway 101 widening project south of Santa Barbara to the county line, the potential Measure A revenues would be split down the middle, with $405 million going to each region.
“Each regional plan provides local discretionary funding to repair and maintain local streets and roads and also allocates funding for important regional transportation projects and programs that will benefit the citizens of the county and our local economy for years to come,” Kemp wrote.
Highlights of the South County’s spending plan include dedicated funding of the Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District, rather than using contracts to funnel those funds through South Coast cities to the transit agency.
MTD transit services currently paid for by cities under Measure D, the current half-cent sales tax that is set to sunset in 2010, would be funded directly by Measure A.
Funding for pedestrian and bicycle projects, as well as a Safe Routes to School program, would be directed into two funds totaling $26 million and doled out competitively to eligible projects on the South Coast.
Another $25 million would be set aside for commuter and passenger rail planning and improvements. Santa Barbara city staff noted those funds could be used to implement a recently envisioned proposal to make Amtrak service more commuter-friendly and build support for a formal commuter rail plan.
The proposed spending plan for the South County also mandates that each city and the county must spend at least 10 percent of Measure A funds on eligible alternative transportation programs.
Santa Barbara city staff noted recent poll conducted by SBCAG indicates the renewal measure with its current spending plans has a good chance of succeeding in November.