On Dec. 14 a public hearing is being held for an amendment to Measure M, Orange County’s half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements, that would reallocate funds from a recently completed program.
The amendment would close out the completed Project T (gateways to high speed rail) and reallocate the balance to Project U to cover a shortfall in the Senior and Disabled Fare Stabilization Program and Project R, which funds the ongoing operation of Metrolink service in Orange County. Project T has a capital investment emphasis, Project U has an operational emphasis, and Project R has a mix of capital and operations. While the proposed amendment adjusts the relative amount of expenditures among those programs, it does so in the spirit of fulfilling the voter commitment by addressing the needs of two programs using cost savings from a completed program.
The proposal follows the recently completed Ten-Year Comprehensive Program Review (2006-2016) of the Measure M Investment Plan that evaluated the performance of the overall program and provided recommendations to improve performance (report summary). Although there have been legislative and economic changes, they do not warrant any significant changes to the Plan. The amendment will help ensure that all elements of the Measure M Investment Plan can be delivered as promised based on projected revenue.
The public hearing will be part of the regularly scheduled Board meeting at 9 a.m. at OCTA. We also welcome your comments online at octa.net/MeasureM. If you have questions, please contact Tamara Warren, Measure M Program Manager, at twarren@octa.net or (714) 560-5590.