Countywide : OCTA Puts Brakes on Street Fund Plan

The Orange County Transportation Authority sent city governments a message this week: If you want Measure M sales tax dollars for local streets, you’ll have to earn them.

The OCTA board on Monday rejected attempts to soften a Measure M rule that requires city councils to keep spending their own money for street improvements at levels that existed before Measure M was adopted by voters countywide in 1990.

The intent is to ensure that cities keep their commitment to road work by supplementing their budgets, not freeing up funds to pay other bills.

The Measure M half-cent sales tax is expected to raise $3.1 billion over a 20-year period, with city councils and the Board of Supervisors to receive a chunk of the money--if they meet a laundry list of conditions.

La Habra Mayor William D. Mahoney and an OCTA advisory panel that included city managers had recommended that cash-strapped cities be allowed to temporarily reduce their own financial commitment to road projects--and still receive Measure M funds.

Mahoney, an OCTA board member, had cited Measure M’s “special circumstances” clause that allows cities to appeal for relief.

But paving contractors and two other advisory panels opposed the move, as did Supervisor Thomas F. Riley, who insisted there be no change to “keep faith” with voters.

Mahoney was the lone dissenting vote as the OCTA board rejected any change.

A minute later, however, Mahoney gained a partial victory. The OCTA board voted unanimously to have its staff investigate how Measure M’s requirements are affecting cities financially, including whether current rules lead to utility taxes and other fees by cities that are trying to maintain eligibility for Measure M allotments.

The OCTA staff will also propose criteria for granting appeals under Measure M’s “special circumstances” clause. There is no definition of what constitutes “special circumstances.”

Also on Monday, OCTA finalized plans for its “Vision 2020” outreach program, which will begin next week and will include meetings with community groups. The purpose is to help devise a new master plan for transportation projects, including many not funded by Measure M.

Community groups will be asked questions such as: “How should future transportation priorities be determined? How should we pay for the transportation system of the future?”

In preparation for the outreach program, OCTA had Auburn-based consultant Debra A. Whitmore analyze deficiencies in planning efforts. Whitmore concluded in part that too much faith is being placed in traffic reduction strategies such as car-pooling and telecommuting.

Such strategies, even if mandatory, won’t be able to achieve the dramatic changes needed in travel behavior, said Whitmore’s report to OCTA. The study was released by the agency Monday.

Also, Whitmore’s report warns that while current plans will meet demand for north-south travel in Orange County, they are not adequate for east-west travel needs. Among other transportation problems she identified are the absence of plans to widen the Garden Grove Freeway and install car-pool lanes there. Caltrans officials have said the road lacks sufficient right-of-way to do so.