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Council approves regional transportation expenditure plan; PCTPA may take measure to voters
Summary
Council approved the PCTPA expenditure plan for a proposed 30‑year half‑cent transportation sales tax that would prioritize highways and local roads, return about 25% to cities by population and provide bonding authority for major interchange work; the plan is now eligible for further board consideration and potential placement on the ballot.
The City Council approved an expenditure plan on March 26 that the Placer County Transportation Planning Agency (PCTPA) hopes to place before voters if its board advances a sales‑tax measure.
PCTPA presenter Matt outlined the proposed framework: a 30‑year, 0.5‑cent local sales tax district covering Lincoln, Rocklin and Roseville would generate an estimated $1.58 billion over 30 years. The proposed distribution in the draft plan allocates roughly 52% to major highways and interchanges (SR‑65 widening and targeted I‑80/65 interchange work were singled out), 25% returned to participating cities by population for local transportation projects, 12% for rail and transit, 5% for bicycle and pedestrian projects and up to 1% for administration and accountability (the ordinance caps admin at 1%).
Matt told council the measure would provide bonding authority to move large projects (for example, interchange construction) earlier than pay‑as‑you‑go funding would allow. “The money must be used to supplement existing transportation revenues,” he said, stressing that the ordinance would prohibit supplanting and require citizen oversight and open audits.
Council and the public discussed local shares, the competitive pool for discretionary projects, the potential to bond against expected revenues and concerns raised by survey opponents and some community members. Staff and presenters said the plan is intended to leverage local dollars to attract federal and state matching funds that require local match. Council approved the expenditure plan so the PCTPA board may consider formal placement of a measure on the ballot; the approval is a local step in a larger process that would include PCTPA board action and, if approved by voters, subsequent project programming and oversight.
