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Lancaster County outlines public-education plan for transportation sales tax referendum
Summary
County communications staff previewed a nonadvocacy education campaign for the Nov. 4 referendum on a 1% transportation sales tax and an associated bond question, including an interactive map, 40-plus outreach presentations and review by legal counsel to ensure compliance with ethics rules.
Lancaster County's communications team presented a public-education plan to the Lancaster County Council for an upcoming referendum that would ask voters to approve a 1% sales tax increase to fund transportation projects and a separate bond question to finance multiple road projects.
Miss Woods, representing the county's marketing and communications team, told council members the campaign is strictly educational and staff have conferred with legal counsel to avoid prohibited advocacy. "We have to be limited in our conversation today," the chair reminded the body at the start of the presentation; Woods said the outreach is intended to "educate the public on what this is and what it means for them."
Woods described planned materials and activities: a comprehensive web page with videos, interactive maps, fact sheets and a simplified one-sheet summary; a PowerPoint for public meetings; static and interactive maps built with county GIS so residents can view proposed resurfacing, intersection improvements and other projects; and an outreach team of county leaders that will deliver at least 40 presentations to civic groups, businesses and neighborhood organizations before the November ballot.
The interactive map demonstration shows countywide project pinpoints and a capability (when live) to search a street name to see whether that street is proposed for work. Woods said staff will seek review from the county attorney and the ethics commission before deploying materials to ensure they fall under permissible public education. "We are also going to be using these measures to make sure we're gonna get approval from the county attorney and the ethics commission to make sure that all of this falls under public education," she stated.
Why it matters: the county will ask voters on Nov. 4 whether to increase the sales tax by 1% for transportation projects and whether to approve a bond referendum to expedite multiple road projects. Staff emphasized that the role of county employees and the outreach materials will be informational, not persuasive, and that the final materials will be routed to legal counsel for review.
Council members asked about messages, timing and funding for any road improvements that the traffic studies identify; staff said road work costs would be considered part of project costs and funding would be determined after the traffic impact analyses are complete.
No formal council action was taken on the communications plan; the presentation was informational and staff will return with reviewed materials and continue outreach activities.
