Proposal for a local sales tax to support public transportation in Santa Cruz County.

Notice of Intention to Circulate Petition Notice is hereby given of the intention of the persons whose names appear hereon of their intention to circulate the petition within the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District for the purpose of passing a funding measure to support the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District. A statement of the reasons for the proposed action as contemplated in the petition is as follows: Public transportation is a critical public service that supports mobility, economic opportunity, environmental sustainability, and quality of life in Santa Cruz County. Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (METRO) provides essential transportation for residents of all ages and incomes, including students, seniors, workers, people with disabilities, and those who rely on transit as their primary means of travel. Over the past several years, METRO has made significant progress in modernizing and expanding service. Through its Reimagine METRO initiative, the agency now offers frequent transit service - every 20 minutes or better - within one-half mile of approximately 100,000 Santa Cruz County residents. METRO's Youth Cruz Free program has increased student ridership by more than 400 percent, improving access to schools, jobs, and community resources while reducing traffic congestion and household transportation costs. METRO has also aligned transit investments with the County's housing and climate goals. The rebuilt Pacific Station in Downtown Santa Cruz is scheduled to reopen in early 2026 and will include nearly 200 units of affordable housing integrated with a major transit hub. In Watsonville, the Transit Center has secured $39 million in state funding and will be rebuilt with 79 affordable housing units. In addition, more than half of METRO's fleet has transitioned to zero-emission battery-electric and hydrogen-electric vehicles, reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Now METRO is at a crossroads. The agency faces serious structural funding challenges with multiple state and federal funding sources declining at the same time while operating costs - such as fuel, insurance, and maintenance - continue to rise. Without a new, stable, local funding source, METRO projects that it will be forced to reduce service levels by up to forty percent. Such reductions would eliminate important frequency, end the Youth Cruz Free program, and result in the loss of more than one hundred jobs that provide livable wages. Service cuts of this magnitude would increase traffic congestion, reduce access to employment and education, undermine investments in affordable housing, and disproportionately impact seniors, students, people with disabilities, and working families. They would also weaken the County's ability to meet state climate and housing objectives. The proposed one-half percent (1/2%) local sales tax measure is intended to provide a dedicated, locally controlled funding source to stabilize and protect public transportation and keep our community moving forward. s/Eduardo Montesino, 17 Vista Pointe Dr, Watsonville, CA 95076 s/Melinda Orbach, 343 Soquel Ave, STE 119, Santa Cruz, CA 95062 s/Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson, 343 Soquel Ave, STE 119, Santa Cruz, CA 95062 s/Faris Sabbah, 909 Brewington Ave, Watsonville, CA 95076 s/Manu Koenig, 343 Soquel Ave, STE 119, Santa Cruz, CA 95062 Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District 0.5 Percent Sales Tax Initiative to Fund Public Transit Projects and Services The proposed measure ("Measure"), if approved by the voters, would adopt an ordinance of the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District ("METRO") known as The Modern and Efficient Transit Ridership and Operations Initiative ("Ordinance"). The Ordinance would impose a retail transactions and use tax ("Sales Tax") at the rate of one-half of one percent (.5%) in METRO's jurisdiction within Santa Cruz County ("County"), beginning on April 1, 2027. Under the Ordinance, Sales Tax revenue shall be used only for objectives described in the Ordinance and the included Expenditure Plan ("Expenditure Plan"). These objectives include but are not limited to: maintaining and improving bus and paratransit services; expanding bus routes; increasing ridership and reducing traffic; continuing or creating programs for free or reduced fares for youth, students, seniors, people with disabilities, and low-income riders; maintaining and improving facilities and equipment; facilitating technology-based improvements to rider experience and access to information; improving connections within the County and with the broader region; and reducing air pollution by converting to zero emission buses. The Sales Tax would be imposed on all retailers selling tangible personal property in incorporated and unincorporated areas of the County on gross receipts of the retailer. An excise tax would be collected on the storage, use, or other consumption of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer. The Ordinance designates exemptions to the Sales Tax for certain transactions, including but not limited to, those occurring outside of the County. METRO shall contract with the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to administer the Sales Tax. Under the Ordinance, METRO shall establish and administer a Sales Tax revenue fund ("Fund"). All revenue generated by the Sales Tax shall be deposited into the Fund. All sums in the Fund shall be expended by METRO for costs to administer the Sales Tax and projects and services described in the Expenditure Plan. The Ordinance includes several accountability provisions, including the establishment of an Independent Taxpayer Oversight Committee, an annual audit, and an annual report from the METRO Chief Financial Officer on the amount of funds collected and expended and the status of operations and projects funded. METRO may make certain amendments to the Ordinance by two thirds (2/3) vote of the METRO Board of Supervisors. An end date to the proposed tax is not included in the proposed measure. As submitted, this petition includes a total of twelve and an eighth pages of single-spaced text with several subsections. If all legal requirements are met, including gathering the required number of signatures, the proposed measure could be placed on the ballot at a future election. Voters are referred to the submitted documents for complete details.