A $18 million bond measure to fund road maintenance and repairs in Fairfax will appear on the Nov. 5 ballot.
The Town Council unanimously voted at its meeting on Wednesday to put the measure to the electorate. The measure would impose a property tax of $30 per $100,000 in assessed value, raising an estimated $1.2 million per year in revenue.
Councilmember Bruce Ackerman, voicing his support for the measure, noted that all of the interest would not have to be paid from the beginning.
“Typically once the bond measure passes, should it pass, which I hope it does, there would not be $18 million borrowed immediately,” said Ackerman said. “We can’t spend $18 million immediately. There aren’t enough bulldozers.”
The council also voted to have two members, Chance Cutrano and Lisel Blash, write a ballot argument on its behalf.
“I think it’s stronger if it comes from the full council,” Cutrano said.
The tax would start in the 2025-26 fiscal year and end in the 2057-58 fiscal year. The measure also calls for an oversight committee and a special audit of bond funds.
“There’s been some question about controls making sure these bonds will be used appropriately if the voters do pass them,” said Town Manager Heather Abrams.
Fairfax is ranked the lowest in the county on the “pavement condition index,” or PCI, which rates the severity and extent of road damage. The town has a PCI of 52 — considered “at risk” — and ranks 98th out of 109 Bay Area municipalities that track road conditions, according to Joe Ririe, a consultant for the town. The town’s PCI is on pace to drop to 46 in the next five years.
The town is embarking on a five-year, $2.5 million plan to address some interior roads before the potential passage of the bond measure. The town has allocated about $500,000 each year, beginning with this fiscal year.
The five-year plan includes 18% of town roads. The bond measure would account for another 23%. Combined, they would involve about 1.3 million square feet of pavement.
The bond-funded plan focuses on the main routes through town, including Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, Bolinas Road, Center Boulevard, Broadway, Laurel Drive, Scenic Road, Willow Avenue and Porteous Avenue.
The bond measure would need a two-thirds majority vote in favor for it to pass. But the vote could be 55% with the passage of ACA-1, a state ballot measure to lower the voter threshold for general obligation bonds and special taxes for affordable housing and infrastructure projects.
The town has forged ahead with the bond measure despite a survey indicating support of less than two-thirds. The poll showed that 61% of respondents said they would support a 30-year, $36 million bond, while 64% would support a $18 million bond.
The last roads bond, Measure K, passed in 1999. Bonds were issued in 2000, 2002 and 2006. Measure K was set to have an estimated maximum tax rate of $58 per $100,000 of assessed valuation. The current rate is $22.50 per $100,000 of assessed valuation.
In the 2020-21 fiscal year, the road repair budget was $140,000. This year, it is $1 million.
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