At the General Election held on November 6, 2012, the voters of Napa County approved a ½-cent sales tax increase known as Measure T, the Napa Countywide Road Maintenance Act of 2012. The Measure T County-wide sales tax was implemented July 1, 2018, immediately following the sunset of the County-wide flood improvement ½-cent sales tax increase known as Measure A. The sales tax will be implemented by the Napa Valley Transportation Authority – Taxing Authority (“NVTA-TA”), and the tax proceeds will be allocated among all local agencies within the County.
The City of Napa maintains about 218 miles of streets. The City primarily relies on gasoline taxes to pay for street maintenance. However, in recent years revenue from the gas tax has been flat as cars have become more fuel efficient, while the number of vehicles on the road has risen creating more wear and tear, and the cost of street maintenance has gone up. Gas tax funds are no longer sufficient to maintain our streets at the level needed. Measure T will provide another source of funds to bring our streets up to a state of good repair.
Measure T is intended to compliment, not supplant or replace, the City’s current level of effort regarding transportation infrastructure maintenance. The funds cannot be used for new roads or congestion relief ―the tax is only for maintenance of our local streets. It also requires a review of expenditures by an oversight board and the funds cannot be used to offset funds that are currently being spent on roads.
This ensures that the City’s total budget for street maintenance will be increased for the life of the measure. The City of Napa has taken steps in recent years to increase street maintenance with paving programs and sidewalk repair programs. However, maintenance needs still exceed the funding available. The additional $8 million a year that Measure T would provide would help the City of Napa meet the need.
