Fresno council sends stopgap sales-tax measure to November ballot after talks collapse at county

The Fresno City Council voted 6–1 on July 30 to submit a city sales-tax measure to the November 2026 ballot as a stopgap after county efforts to renew Measure C faltered. The proposed transactions-and-use tax would keep the current 0.5% rate, raise an estimated $65 million annually and carry a 10-year sunset or terminate earlier if a countywide transportation tax passes.

Mayor Jerry P. Dyer and council sponsors argued the measure is needed to avoid an abrupt fiscal hit that staff said would amount to roughly $54 million next fiscal year and jeopardize work across public works, transit, capital projects and the airport. "This year, it would have meant, if we didn't have it, a loss of, $54,000,000 to the city of Fresno," the mayor said in his presentation. He and council members said the city would use the proceeds to preserve essential services, avoid layoffs and sustain the pavement and transit programs funded historically by Measure C.

Opponents, however, criticized the item as a rushed, general tax that lacks dedicated protections for specific services. Several speakers asked the council to insist on clearer spending rules or delay the vote so voters could review detailed allocations. Council members debated trade-offs: earmarking funds would require a higher voter threshold (two-thirds), while a general tax requires only a majority. Sponsors said the measure was written to avoid double-taxing residents and included a clause that would allow the mayor to withhold final submission if the county's Better Roads, Safe Streets initiative qualifies.

What happens next: the measure will go on the November ballot unless the mayor exercises his veto in the coming days; if approved by voters the city would collect the tax at the current rate and use oversight language included in the proposed ordinance, and if a county measure later takes effect the city measure is written to sunset.