Two organizations — the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments, known as SLOCOG, and a community group called Better Roads for All SLO County — are each independently working to place a half-percent sales tax increase on the November ballot.
Some residents say they support the idea.
"I think that's a good idea. Do it, period," said Taryn Weller and Payton Moynihan, San Luis Obispo residents.
Others say they would be willing to pay more, but aren't convinced it's necessary.
"I do know that there have been a lot of potholes with the recent storms, but it seems like those are getting repaired and taken care of, so I'm not really sure what improvements there are," said Cyndi Hafley, a San Luis Obispo resident.
SLOCOG Deputy Director James Worthley says the region has been falling behind on transportation funding for years.
"Transportation funding is going down because it's based on gas tax that has been antiquated for decades, and it continues to go down. Not the cents per gallon, but the total consumption, because of more electric vehicles or high mileage vehicles. We're just not seeing the funding coming back to our area," Worthley said.
If approved by voters, the additional tax would remain in effect for 30 years and make SLO County a "self-help county" — a designation that opens the door to additional state funding.
"If you are a self-help county you get to apply for grants that others don't. There's 200 million a year that the state of California makes available only to self-help counties," said Jorge Aguilar of Better Roads for All SLO County.
Right now, Better Roads for All is collecting signatures from residents to get the measure added to the ballot.
Aguilar says the cost to residents would be modest.
"A half a percent increase in sales tax, by the way, paid for by the visitors that are coming here, as well as the ones who live here, looks like about 50 cents more out of 100 dollars," Aguilar said.
Here is what the new sales tax rates would look like across the county if the measure passes:
- Arroyo Grande, Atascadero, Grover Beach, Morro Bay, Paso Robles, and San Luis Obispo would see their sales tax increase from 8.75 percent to 9.25 percent.
- Pismo Beach would go from 8.25 percent to 8.75 percent.
Some residents say the cost of not fixing the roads may be higher in the long run.
"You're going to pay for it anyway. If the roads aren't that good, cars are going to get beat up, and you got to pay for that," said Dan Fredman, a San Luis Obispo resident.
For more details on Better Roads for All's effort, go to: https://betterroads4allsloco.com/
