Under the Measure M sales tax ballot measure, 17 percent of all sales taxes collected would be returned to the 88 cities and unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County on a per capita basis. That would rise to 20 percent beginning in 2040 under Metro’s plan.

Cities can use these funds for a variety of transportation projects: local bus service, street and pothole repair, traffic signal synchronization, sidewalk repair/expansion and new bike lanes, among others. The idea is to ensure that every city in the county gets something from each ballot measure.

As for the above chart, it shows how much local return funds would be generated in Measure M’s first full fiscal year (2017-18), in addition to the estimated local return funds from Metro’s three prior three half-cent sales tax ballot measures that voters approved in 1980 (Prop A), 1990 (Prop C) and 2008 (Measure R).

The ballot measure would raise the countywide sales tax by a half cent and continue the Measure R half-cent sales tax beyond its mid-2039 expiration date to fund a number of highway, transit, local street, walking and biking programs.

Here is a report on how local return funds were spent in the last fiscal year by each city: