Metro is currently in the process of finalizing the annual budget for the 2017 fiscal year, which will be effective July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017. The budget sets transportation priorities across L.A. County for the coming year and will be presented to the Metro Board of Directors for approval at the May board meeting.
Before the budget is finalized, you’ll have a chance to learn about where Metro gets its money and how it spends those dollars, as well as provide your feedback, at these Service Council meetings:
San Fernando Valley Service Council
Wednesday, May 4 at 6:30 p.m.
Marvin Braude Constituent Center
6262 Van Nuys Blvd.
Van Nuys, CA 91401
Westside/Central Service Council
Wednesday, May 11 at 5 p.m.
Metro Headquarters
One Gateway Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Gateway Cities Service Council
Thursday, May 12 at 6 p.m.
Salt Lake Park Community Center
3401 E Florence Ave.
Huntington Park, CA 90255
South Bay Service Council
Friday, May 13 at 9:30 a.m.
Inglewood City Hall
One Manchester Blvd.
Inglewood, CA 90301
San Gabriel Valley Service Council
Monday, May 9 at 5 p.m.
Metro Division 9 building (adjacent to El Monte Station)
3449 Santa Anita Ave., 3rd Floor Service Council Room
El Monte, CA 91731
Metro will also hold a public hearing to gather comments on the proposed budget:
Budget Public Hearing
Wednesday, May 18 at 1 p.m.
Metro Headquarters, Board Room
One Gateway Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90012
If you’re unable to attend these meetings, you can also email your comments to budgetcomments@metro.net.
Categories: Policy & Funding
I’d love to see this blog take a deep dive into what Metro’s two original sales taxes, Prop A and Prop C, are paying for today. I think the taxpayers of LA County deserve that before being asked to raise taxes again for transportation. We hear about those two almost not at all.
From metro.net page on Prop A, Prop C and Measure R:
The majority of Metro funding is provided from the Proposition A, C and Measure R local sales taxes. The Proposition A sales tax, approved by voters in 1980, is a one-half of 1% tax on most retail sales in the County. Metro returns 25% of the Proposition A tax to the cities in the County for transportation purposes. The balance of the Proposition A tax is restricted 35% for rail development and 40% for discretionary purposes. Almost all of the discretionary portion is used to fund bus service provided by Metro and 16 other municipal bus operators within the County.
The Proposition C sales tax, approved by voters in 1990, is an additional one-half of 1% tax on retail sales in the County. Metro returns 20% of the Proposition C tax to the cities in the County for transportation purposes. The balance of the Proposition C tax is restricted 40% for construction and operation of the bus transit and rail system; 5% to expand rail and bus security; 10% for commuter rail, construction of transit centers, park and ride lots and freeway bus stops; and 25% for transit-related improvements to freeways and state highways.
On November 3, 1998 an initiative affecting the Proposition A and Proposition C sales taxes, in the form of the Act of 1998, was submitted and approved by the voters of Los Angeles County. Pursuant to the Act of 1998 Metro is no longer allowed to expend Proposition A or Proposition C sales tax on the costs of planning, design, construction or operation of any “New Subway.” New Subway is defined to mean any rail line in a tunnel below the earth’s surface, except for the existing segments of the Metro Red Line. The Act of 1998 does not limit in any way the collection of the Proposition A or the Proposition C sales taxes.
Measure R was approved by 2/3 of the Los Angeles County voters in the November 2008 election. Measure R is an ordinance authorizing an additional ½ of 1% sales tax to fund traffic relief and rail expansion according to an expenditure plan contained in the ordinance. The Measure R sales tax became effective July 1, 2009 and will remain in effect for 30 years.
The following table presents collections of Proposition A, C and Measure R sales tax revenues (net of an administrative fee paid to the State Board of Equalization) for the fiscal years ending June 30, 1999 through June 30, 2014 ($ in thousands).
More: https://www.metro.net/about/financebudget/taxes/
Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source