County Considers Vehicle Registration Tax

The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission will be holding a public hearing on Thursday to gather input from the community about plans to place a $10 vehicle registration fee on the November Ballot.

If the measure passes, the money would be used to “fix potholes, maintain local streets and roads, create safe routes to schools for students, and construct accessible pedestrian facilities for all in the community, including seniors and people with disabilities.”

The measure would need to be approved by two-thirds of registered county voters to pass. About $2.2 million would be raised annually from the fee. The money would be distributed to cities and unincorporated parts of the county based on population and can only be used for road repairs
and safety projects for pedestrians.

The RTC says it recognizes that “local streets and roads are in a state of disrepair, and that existing state and federal funding sources are both unreliable and insufficient to operate and maintain the local road system.”

“While the $10 vehicle registration fee will not fully cover the cost for the backlog of road repairs and other transportation needs in the community, the funds will be a stable source of funds to local jurisdictions that can be used to leverage state and federal funds and to prevent further deterioration of the transportation system,” the RTC said in a press release.

In March 2012, the RTC polled likely Santa Cruz County voters and 69 percent said they would support the measure. Now the RTC would like to hear from more of the community.

A public hearing will be held on Aug. 2 at 9:30 a.m. at the County Board of Supervisor’s Chamber, 701 Ocean Street, fifth floor, Santa Cruz.

To view the proposed ballot measure, visit http://sccrtc.org/funding-planning/local-funds-local-roads/