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A regular rush-hour driver wastes an average of 99 gallons of gasoline a year due to traffic. The average cost of the time lost in rush hour traffic is $1,160 per person.
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Center for Transportation Excellence
1030 15th Street NW
Suite 750 West
Washington, DC 20005
Tel: (202) 349-1037
Fax: (202) 318-1429
info@cfte.org
www.cfte.org
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2009 Transportation Ballot Measures
* Please send any corrections, additions, or omissions
to info@cfte.org
See Measures Developing for 2010.
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STATE |
CITY |
QUICK FACTS |
SUBJECT |
DATE |
OUTCOME |
| 1 |
CO |
Colorado Springs |
Type: Property Tax |
Measure 2C would have increased the local property tax by 10 mills over five years with six mills in year one, and one additional mill each of the next four years. The levy would support the city's community centers, pools, parks, transit services and police and fire departments. Without it, city leaders have said that transit services would be slashed including 65,000 hours funded solely by the city. |
November 3, 2009
|
LOSS Failed
37%-63% |
| 2 |
CO |
Fountain |
Type: Sales tax |
Voters approved a 0.75% sales tax for transportation improvements, maintenance and service. The tax will go into effect on January 1, 2010 and will be reduced by 0.4% after ten years. A 0.35% portion of the sales tax increase will be used to pay for capital and safety improvements to streets, a 0.25% portion of the sales tax increase will be used for public transportation and a 0.15% portion of the sales tax increase will pay for public street resurfacing. The tax increase will raise $1.352 million in the first fiscal year. |
November 3, 2009 |
WIN
Approved
50.4%-49.6%
|
| 3 |
IN |
Porter, and St. Joseph Counties |
Type: Establishment of RTD |
Voters in Porter and St. Joseph counties failed to approve the establishment of the Northern Indiana Regional Transportation District, which would have been able to impose an income tax of up to 0.25 percent in each member county. Only two of the four counties required by state law to place the measure on the ballot complied. It is unclear if the other two counties will still place the measure on a 2010 ballot. This issue may not be decided until May, as the NIRTD could still be established for all four counties if voters in both Lake and LaPorte approve. |
November 3, 2009
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LOSS
St Joseph County:
Failed
5%-95%
Porter County: Failed
20%-80% |
| 4 |
ME |
Statewide |
Type: Bond |
Maine voters statewide approved a $71.25 million bond to support a variety of transportation investments and to help Maine leverage more than $148 million in matching funds from federal, local and private sources. Funding in this bond would be divided amongst various transportation needs, including $55 million for highway and bridge investment, $4 million for rail investments, including $2 million for a new Critical Rail Corridors Program, and $400,000 for investment in an intermodal transportation facility. The remainder of the funds would be for aviation, port and ferry improvements. |
November 3, 2009
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WIN Approved
65%-35% |
| 5 |
MI |
Flint |
|
Flint voters approved another five-year millage renewal for the Flint Mass Transportation Authority to run primary bus routes. The measure is a renewal of the current 0.6 mill property tax. It will extend the tax until June 30, 2016 and is expected to generate about $814,164 in the first fiscal year it is collected. |
November 3, 2009
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WIN Approved
68%-32% |
| 6 |
MI |
Grand Rapids |
Type: Property tax |
The board that governs The Rapid public bus system in Grand Rapids has been considering whether to ask voters in six cities to raise property taxes to pay for a high-speed bus line. Voters in Grand Rapids, East Grand Rapids, Kentwood, Walker, Wyoming and Grandville could be asked to approve the increase on a May 5 ballot, although the additional tax levy would not take effect until 2012. The proposal calls for increasing the current millage by 0.16-mills in 2012. It also would extend the length of time the millage could be collected to 2016.ct. |
May 5, 2009
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LOSS Failed
52% to 48% |
| 7 |
MI |
Kalamazoo County |
Type: Property tax
Amount of funding at stake on ballot: |
The countywide three-year, 0.4 mill levy was approved this year by county voters to pay for services such as Care-A-Van and fixed bus routes outside the city. |
May 5, 2009 |
WIN Approved
63% to 37% |
| 8 |
MI |
Kalamazoo |
Type: Property tax |
Voters within the city of Kalamazoo approved the second part of a two-part plan to increase funding for transportation. The first part of the plan was the county-wide vote in May. In November, voters approved the second part —a 0.6 mill request to generate approximately $1 million annually for Metro Transit over three years. |
November 3, 2009
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WIN Approved
76%-24% |
| 9 |
OH |
Cincinnati |
Type: Charter Amendment |
Voters rejected a proposed charter amendment that would have required that any rail project, including the $185 million, 7.9-mile streetcar plan, be subject to a general vote by the citizens of Cincinnati. The broad wording of the amendment implied that any rail project, regardless of whether it has a tax increase associated with it, would be prevented from moving forward until receiving voter approval. |
November 3, 2009
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WIN Failed
44%-56% |
| 10 |
OK |
Oklahoma City |
Type: Sales tax |
Voters will be asked to approve an initiative to fund a diverse group of projects, including a new rail-based streetcar system, plus potential funding for other rail transit initiatives, such as commuter lines and a transit hub; sidewalks to be placed on major streets and near facilities used by the public and 57 miles of new public bicycling and walking trails throughout the city. The so-called MAPS proposal calls for a seven-year, nine-month one-cent sales tax that will maintain the Oklahoma City sales tax rate where it currently stands. |
December 8, 2009 |
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| 11 |
WA |
Island County |
Type: Sales tax |
Island Transit, which is funded through sales and use taxes collected in Island County, is seeking approval of an increase in the tax rate from six-tenths of 1 percent to nine-tenths of 1 percent. If approved, the increase would provide the transit service with an additional $2.2 million in the first year. |
August 18, 2009
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WIN Approved
55% to 45% |
2009 State Legislature Measures
| |
STATE |
CITY |
SUBJECT |
STATUS |
| 1 |
GA |
Atlanta |
In January, the Senate Transportation Committee took up legislation that would allow multicounty regions to levy themselves a 1-cent sales tax for transportation projects in their regions. SB39 and SR44, if passed by the General Assembly, would still need a constitutional amendment to be enacted. That amendment would have to be approved by Georgia voters. The House is moving legislation that would allow voters to decide on a statewide 1-cent sales tax for transportation, which is in direct conflict with the Senate plan. |
The Senate overwhelmingly approved the legislation in early February.
The House approved their version in early March. |
| 2 |
NC |
Charlotte |
On February 10, a Mecklenburg lawmaker introduced a bill that would give N.C. counties the ability to levy up to a half-cent sales tax for mass transit, just as Mecklenburg did in 1998. Five urban counties in the Triangle and Triad could enact a half-cent sales tax, and 94 rural counties would have a quarter-cent sales tax option -- only for public transportation. |
Introduced in early February. Approved by state legislature in August. |
| 3 |
TN |
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Legislation has been filed in the Tennessee House that would allow major municipalities in Tennessee to establish their own Regional Transportation Authority, like the one already in place for Middle Tennessee. It would then allow a local RTA to take one of two routes in order to establish a dedicated funding source for regional transportation:
- It could take a dedicated funding proposal to voters for a referendum
- It could ask a local legislative body like Metro Council to pass a law created a new funding source for mass transit
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Introduced in early February. |
| 4 |
TX |
Dallas-Fort Worth |
Senate Bill 855 would allow counties to hold elections and ask voters to raise new monies for development of commuter rail lines or to supplement funding for road projects. Voters in counties across the Dallas-Fort Worth region could be asked to approve new taxes and fees for roads and commuter rail as soon as spring 2011. |
Introduced February 16, 2009. |
| 5 |
VA |
Charlottesville |
The measure, HB 2158 would allow Charlottesville and Albemarle County to form a regional transit authority. A separate bill was killed in January that would have allowed Charlottesville and Albemarle to hold a referendum to increase the local sales tax rate by up to a penny.
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Approved by Virginia House of Delegates in 94-4 vote. |
| 6 |
WA |
Clark County |
Separate bills are moving through the Senate and House in the Washington legislature that would allow C-Tran to create a subdistrict to fund operation of light rail in Clark County. Voters within that subdistrict would be asked to tax themselves to pay for operation of a light rail line connecting to Tri-Met's system in the Portland metropolitan area. |
The Senate Transportation Committee held a hearing on February 9. |
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