Measure D sales tax returning to county ballot By Chuck Schultz/Senior Staff Writer Warning of a “transportation disaster” for Santa Barbara County without Measure D, local officials overwhelmingly decided Thursday to ask voters in November 2008 to renew the half-cent sales tax that pays for road maintenance, freeway improvements and transit programs. During a two-hour discussion in Santa Maria, however, the 13 board members of the countywide Association of Governments (SBCAG) were sharply divided on whether to keep Measure D entirely as is, or change its 70-30 split of revenue between local and regional projects. The local funds are used as individual communities see fit, while regional funds are allocated to specific projects by the SBCAG board. After a heated discussion on that issue - and predictions that a renewal measure with only 30 percent for regional projects, such as widening Highway 101 in Santa Barbara, will fail on the South Coast - the board postponed any decision on the allocation formula until next month. The panel is also grappling with whether to follow an SBCAG staff recommendation that separate expenditure plans for using the regional Measure D money be developed for the North County and the South Coast. Thursday's lively debate took place about five months after county voters, especially in the North County, rejected a November ballot measure that would have extended Measure D for 30 years and increased it to three-fourths of a cent. The extra money was partly for alternative transportation projects, including $126 million for a proposed commuter rail system between Santa Barbara and Ventura. Measure D, which now raises $35 million annually, was originally passed by county voters in 1989, when only majority approval was required. Because of a change in the law since then it would need two-thirds approval to be renewed, but the three-quarter-cent measure was favored by only 54 percent of voters countywide last fall. County Supervisor Joe Centeno's motion Thursday to ask voters November 2008 to renew the existing, half-cent tax for another 20 years passed 11-2, with County Supervisor Joni Gray and Solvang Councilman Jim Richardson dissenting. Gray said she's unconvinced that most voters see the need for keeping Measure D. Richardson voted against the proposal after getting no support for putting the measure, in its current form, on the February 2008 presidential primary ballot. Other board members said more time than that is needed to generate public support and to decide how the measure should be structured. Several board members, including Centeno, argued that the renewal measure should be as simple as possible. They favored retaining the 70-30 split between funds allocated to local communities, according to population, and those earmarked for regional projects like adding another lane in each direction on Highway 101 between Santa Barbara and Carpinteria or widening the freeway bridge across the Santa Maria River. “I am very, very worried that we may not have a Measure D” when it expires in 2010, remarked County Supervisor Brooks Firestone. He said that would create a “transportation disaster.” “The effects of that on transportation in this county would be devastating,” Firestone added. “I feel we should do a simple renewal” and put aside any “competing agendas” for various areas in the county. “I wish it was as simplistic as you put it,” responded County Supervisor Salud Carbajal. Insisting on a 70-30 allocation split for local and regional projects will kill the renewal measure's chances for success on the South Coast, he contended, a view echoed by SBCAG staff member Gregg Hart. “I don't think the South Coast will go for that,” Carbajal said. “I guarantee you right now it won't fly on the South Coast, unless we get away from that 70-30 issue.” Groups seeking a greater emphasis on alternative transportation projects “will be strongly opposed” to an absolute limit of 30 percent on money designated to regional projects, Hart added. “If we do what you're proposing, to lock in the 70 percent (for local control), it will go down on the South Coast.” Voters there, he said, “will not support renewal without specific dollars for alternative transportation.” Lamenting that “we could meet until next decade and not reach a consensus” on the best way of allocating Measure D money, Lompoc Mayor Dick DeWees said he thinks “ultimately what we're going to have to do here is renew the existing Measure D.” The SBCAG board is made up of all five county supervisors and one representative from each of the eight cities within Santa Barbara County. One of its newest members, Santa Maria Mayor Larry Lavagnino, said he was struggling with the allocation formula, but was finally convinced of the need “for keeping it as simple as we possibly can” by retaining the 70-30 split. “There's no doubt in my mind that the projects Santa Barbara wants are a lot different that ones (favored) in Santa Maria,” he said. Keeping 70 percent of Measure D monies earmarked for local projects allows each community to set its own priorities for transportation needs, he and others argued. “Measure D, as it now operates, seems to work fine,” Richardson noted. “I agree with keeping it simple. We shouldn't try to fix something that's not broken.” Chuck Schultz can be reached at 925-2691, Ext. 2241, or cschultz@santamariatimes.com. April 20, 2007