Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill on Monday, Oct. 13 that will give Monterey-Salinas Transit a chance to ask voters for more money, and shore up the agency’s projected revenue stream into the next decade.
Assembly Bill 761, introduced by Assemblymember Dawn Addis, D-Morro Bay, authorizes the MST board – by a two-thirds vote – to propose a ballot measure for a sales tax of up to $0.25.
This comes as MST’s Measure Q, a 2014 ballot measure that imposed a one-eighth-cent sales tax in Monterey County to fund transportation services for seniors, veterans and those with disabilities, expires in 2030. Measure Q was the first-ever countywide sales tax measure dedicated to public transit, and passed with 72 percent of the vote; currently, its revenues exceed $13 million annually and make up about a quarter of MST’s budget.
MST General Manager Carl Sedoryk says challenges loom ahead because federal and state gas tax revenues are declining with the increasing adoption of electric vehicles.
Sedoryk says increased revenues are critical in order to achieve the state’s mandated goal that 100-percent of MST’s fleet be zero-emission by 2040. He estimates that it will cost at least $130 million; in MST’s fleet of 163 buses, just four are currently electric.
He adds there is currently no tax to fund MST fixed routes – which serve about 90 percent of its ridership – and that those are dependent entirely on state and federal sources. “We may need a local source to expand [that network], and this will allow us to make that ask, to start the climb.”
Sedoryk sees two windows to potentially float another ballot measure or extension of Measure Q – in November 2026 or 2028 – and says MST will conduct polling in the coming months to see where voters are. “We’re only going to put it on the ballot if we think we’re going to win,” he says.
(1) comment
A New Tax. What a Surprise. On Cue and As Predicted.
By Rosemarie Barnard
A new tax. What a surprise. On cue and as predicted.
Gov. Gavin Newsom just signed Assembly Bill 761, with a helping hand from author Dawn Addis… yes, the same Assemblywoman who heartily championed the Vistra BESS facility in Moss Landing, giving the Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST) agency permission to do what government does best…ask for more of your money.
This time, MST wants to float another sales tax, up to 25 cents on the dollar to “sustain operations” and fund its dream of a fully electric fleet. Never mind that we’re still paying the one-eighth-cent Measure Q tax, which already brings in $13 million a year and makes up a quarter of MST’s budget. Yet somehow, it’s never enough.
Let’s be honest: replacing MST’s entire fleet with full-size electric buses is a fantasy. Those buses cost about $900,000 each, and that’s before factoring in the tens of millions required for the charging infrastructure, transformers, substations, and power upgrades large enough to light a small city.
No doubt this new tax will quietly bankroll MST’s SURF project, the so-called “bus rapid transit” line that few riders asked for and even fewer will use. And when challenged, MST will hide behind Sacramento’s skirt, claiming the state is “forcing” them to go zero-emission by 2040.
Translation: the state creates the unfunded mandate, and local taxpayers get stuck with the bill. Again.
Meanwhile, ridership is still below pre-pandemic levels, fixed routes are underfunded, and the agency continues to hemorrhage subsidies while pretending more taxes equal sustainability.
Before MST gets another penny, voters should demand a full audit, a ridership reality check, and an honest accounting of where the last $100 million went.
Monterey County doesn’t need another sales tax. What it needs is a transit agency that lives within its means, not one that drives taxpayers off a fiscal cliff in an empty electric bus.
(Edited by staff.)Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.