Town council recommends regional transportation plan be placed on March 2026 ballot to avoid funding gap

The town council voted unanimously to recommend that the county Board of Supervisors place the Regional Transportation Authority92s new 20-year plan, RTA Next, on the March 2026 ballot so voters can decide whether to replace the expiring regional sales tax and avoid a gap in transit funding.

The move came after a presentation by Mike Ortega, interim executive director of the Regional Transportation Authority, who described the plan as a regionwide program of roadway, transit, bicycle and pedestrian projects and said "everyone who lives and works in this region will benefit from this plan." Ortega told the council the timing matters because state statute requires collection of a voter-approved tax to begin on April 1 following the election, and that going to voters in March would avoid a break in funding for roughly $32,000,000 in annual regional transit services, including dial-a-ride/paratransit and fixed routes.

The RTA Next plan uses a 20-year planning horizon and, according to presenters, applies a conservative (pessimistic) sales-tax revenue projection to reduce the risk of the…