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TAM’s Measure AA amendment clears San Rafael council; funding shifts to protect crossing guards and larger projects
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Summary
The council approved Transportation Authority of Marin’s limited Measure AA expenditure‑plan amendments to shore up the crossing‑guard program and create a new countywide 'reimagine roadways' capital category; staff emphasized outreach and a phased accounting change to cushion cities during the transition.
San Rafael — The City Council on April 20 voted 3–0 to approve amendments to Measure AA’s expenditure plan as recommended by the Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM).
Derek McGill of TAM told the council the proposed amendments affect about 5% of the measure’s funding and leave roughly 95% of Measure AA unchanged. The changes include a 5.5% increase to the crossing‑guard allocation to sustain the current 96 guards and a 4% reallocation from local transportation infrastructure to a new “reimagine roadways” category intended to advance larger, multi‑jurisdictional capital projects. McGill said the change also embeds half a percent of innovation funding into those capital projects.
McGill described a public outreach effort that yielded about 300 formal comments and said the TAM board and county supervisors have already approved the amendments. He explained a temporary accounting change — a “double allocation” that allows TAM to provide two years of funding up front — to ease the local transition.
Council members asked how the crossing‑guard program could be made sustainable beyond the Measure AA shift; McGill said grants, flexible local revenues and creative use of interest and existing fees are part of the plan. On sea‑level‑rise funding, McGill described TAM’s recent countywide study and said the Measure AA sea‑level‑rise program is modest (roughly $300,000 per year) and intended for technical assistance and grant support, not the full cost of large adaptation projects.
Why it matters: The amendment keeps crossing guards in place and creates a funding path for larger capital projects that local public‑works directors requested. Staff and TAM emphasized that the changes do not require a new public vote and will be implemented through the TAM board and partner jurisdictions.
What’s next: TAM seeks concurrence from a majority of cities and towns representing a majority of the incorporated population before amendments take effect; staff said the roadshow of municipal presentations will continue through April and May and the amendments could go into effect by July 1 if procedural thresholds are met.
