Measure X may generate $600 M for Monterey County roads

A yes vote for Measure X is a vote in favor of an additional 0.375 percent sales tax for 30 years to fund transportation infrastructure projects. A no vote would leave things as is, meaning no additional sales tax but also roadwork that needs funding.

“Monterey County has a backlog of over a billion dollars in just basic road maintenance,” said Outreach Coordinator Theresa Wright.

Proposed by TAMC, Measure X would raise an estimated $20 million a year. Over the course of 30 years, that’s about $600 million dollars.

“60 percent of the money will go back to the cities to do basic road maintenance like pot holes. The remaining 40 percent will go to mobility and safety projects,” said Wright.

The sales tax is equivalent to 0.38 cents for every $100 that you spend. Outreach Coordinator Theresa Wright says that money could then be leveraged to apply for matching grants at the state and federal level.

“We have to get 66.7 percent of the voters to say yes to this measure. We’ve tried this before and were hoping that this is the year that we will be successful in our effort,” said Wright.

People against the measure say sales tax in Monterey County is already too high, and that many taxpayers will outlive this tax. Also the plan offers little road improvement overall, and may make some traffic problems worse.