League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Santa Barbara County, CA November 4, 2008 Election
	Measure A2008 Road Repair/Traffic Relief/Transportation Improvements County of Santa Barbara Continues existing half-cent sales tax - 2/3 Approval Required Pass: 130278 / 79.15% Yes votes ...... 34309 / 20.85% No votes See Also: Index of all Measures

Arguments For Measure A2008

Arguments Against Measure A2008

Argument in favor of Measure A Measure A is a fair, balanced plan for repairing, maintaining and improving our local roads; expanding the use of buses, bikes, trains and walking; and easing traffic congestion on our highways, intersections and major streets. Most importantly, Measure A does NOT increase our taxes, which is one of the reasons the Santa Barbara County Taxpayers Association endorses Measure A. Measure A merely continues what has been a dependable and important source of local funding over the past 20 years for maintaining and improving Santa Barbara County's transportation system. All of the money from Measure A stays in Santa Barbara County, with all areas of the county getting their fair share of tax revenue and benefits. Sacramento politicians can not take the money to fix their budget mess. Projects supported by Measure A will make our roads and highways safer for motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians. Measure A will also ensure that our roads and highways are in good condition during emergencies, helping our police, firefighters and ambulances respond quickly. Some of the dozens of local and regional transportation projects that Measure A will fund include: Safe Routes to School for children; repairing and maintaining local roads; expanding bus and other transit programs countywide to ease increasing traffic congestion; synchronizing traffic signals; improving Highway 101 interchanges; and widening Highway 101 to six lanes. Part of the money will go to retrofitting bridges against earthquakes and improving existing passenger rail service to get cars off of Highway 101. Measure A also qualifies Santa Barbara County to receive more than $520 million in matching state and federal funds - bringing home more of your tax dollars for local transportation projects that directly benefit you. Please join us in voting YES for Measure A to improve our local roads and highways, enhance our public transit services and ease growing congestion - all WITHOUT increasing taxes. Salud Carbajal, First District County Supervisor Brooks Firestone, Third District County Supervisor Dave Davis, Executive Director, Community Environmental Council Linda K. Phillips, PhD, President, League of Women Voters of Santa Barbara Andy Caldwell, Executive Director of COLAB Rebuttal to Arguments For Measure A is an unbalanced plan to upgrade county transportation infrastructure and is a large tax increase as well. It should be rejected and replaced with a more useful plan. Measure A now has too much funding going to maintenance and too little going to major regional projects. Major regional projects are typically funded 75% by federal and state sources (from others) not County sources (from us) so we get a lot more for our money than for other things. Doubling major projects will open up another SI Billion of other peoples' money spent on our roads that isn't taxed to us. Measure A revenue is divided half to North and half to Soutb because population is split that way now. This will change over time and the finding split should track the population split. A 20 year measure cuts taxes by 1/3 or $350 Million. Vote NO! on the present Measure A and yes next year on a better proposal. Scott Wenz, President, Cars are Basic M.R. Ward Sr., Santa Barbara County Republican Party Jennifer Herrera, Executive Director, Fix101.org

Measure A, a sales tax increase like failed predecessor Measue D, is an inadequate porgram to deal with serious countywide traffic problems. It should not be approved in its present form because it doesn't do the job despite costing taxpayers $1 billion. Measure A spends too little on major regional improvements (20 percent) and too much on minor local improvements (60 percent). It spends too much on uneconomical ideas ($25 million on commuter rail) and not enough on projects of real benefit. It ties us down for 30 years which is too long given the major changes coming because of soaring oil prices and the resulting altered lifestyles. The proposed citizen advisory committee within it needs more power to be effective. Matching funds of up to 75% of total cost from federal and state sources are available for main road improvements. Stressing these projects speeds up the improvements and lowers county expenditures. Because this is a sales tax, Measure A will hit seniors and working families especially hard. Shortening the time period from 30 years to 10 years will cut the obligation by almost 70%. If this Measure A fails, there is ample time to prepare and submit a good one or more to voters in 2010. Its framers will be under intense pressure to do a more effective job and are more likely to rise to the occasion and do better. Everyone, including us, wants an effective Measure A that will produce positie results at reasonable cost and is renewable in 10 years. We will TRY AGAIN IN 2010! Support common sense and reduce tax waste! Vote NO on A! Jennifer Herrera, Executive Director, Fix101.org Scott Wenz, President, Cars are Basic, Inc. M.R. Ward Sr., Chair, Santa Barbara County Republican Party. Rebuttal to Arguments Against Measure A does NOT increase our taxes. Measure A merely continues what has been a reliable source of local funding for maintaining and improving Santa Barbara County's vital transportation system over the past 20 years. Measure A is a balanced plan, reflecting priorities identified by residents from Santa Maria to Carpinteria during a year of public meetings and hearings. Measure A provides each city its fair share of revenue, while supporting projects that benefit the entire county. Some of the things that Measure A will accomplish WITHOUT raising your taxes include: Enhancing Public Safety - Keeping our roads in good condition for quick response by police, firefighters and ambulances. Improving Local Roads - Guaranteed county and city funding to maintain and improve roads, including fixing potholes and improving intersections. Supporting Alternative Transportation - Enhanced local and regional bus service, along with funding to make walking and bicycling safer and easier. Reducing Congestion - Widening 101 to six lanes will ease traffic and benefit all parts of the county. To ensure that funds are spent efficiently and all projects are completed as promised, Measure A establishes a clear system of accountability, including a Citizens Oversight Committee, annual audits and public review of expenditures. Best of all, every penny from Measure A stays in Santa Barbara County. And Measure A qualifies Santa Barbara County to receive $522 million in matching state and federal tax dollars that would otherwise to go to other counties. Please vote YES on Measure A. For better, safer roads and less traffic, WITHOUT increasing taxes. Lois Capps, U.S. Congresswoman Joe Armendariz, SB Technology and Industry Association Bill Brown, Sheriff-Coroner, SB County Paula A. Perotte, President, Parent Teacher Association Fifteenth District Joe Centano, SB County Fifth District Supervisor