Fresno Council Sends Sales Tax to November Ballot as Measure C Replacement

The Fresno City Council voted 6-1 last Thursday to place a half-cent sales tax measure on the November 3rd ballot, written to fill the $54 million gap left when the county’s Measure C transportation tax expires in June 2027.

The new tax would keep Fresno’s sales tax rate at 8.35 percent — the same total rate residents pay now with Measure C included. If voters approve it this fall, the tax goes into effect July 1, 2027.

Council President Nelson Esparza said the measure was written as a general tax because it allows passage with a simple majority of voters. That structure means the revenue goes into the city’s general fund rather than being legally restricted to transportation or infrastructure projects, as Measure C funds were.

Mayor Jerry Dyer told the council that without the replacement revenue, dozens of city workers could lose their jobs and public transit could face cuts. Veterans advocate Yonas Paulos, who relies on the bus system, told the council he came to speak because the service is “my everyday life, especially in the last 20 years.”

Councilmember Annalisa Perea cast the only vote against placing the measure on the ballot. The material does not state her reason.

The city’s proposal came after the Fresno County Board of Supervisors ruled on July 14 that the countywide Better Roads, Safe Streets initiative needed additional review and would likely miss the deadline for the November ballot. Mayor Dyer has said the county measure has until August 7 to reach the November ballot, and that if the county measure is approved, he will veto the city measure that passed Thursday.

The Breakdown

• Measure C, a 40-year county transportation tax, expires June 2027, leaving a $54 million gap in the city’s budget.
• The Fresno City Council voted 6-1 to place a half-cent general fund sales tax on the November 3 ballot as a replacement.
• The new tax would keep the city’s total sales tax rate at 8.35 percent — the same as it is now with Measure C included.
• Because this is a general tax, it needs only a simple majority to pass, but the revenue goes into the city’s general fund and is not legally restricted to transportation or infrastructure.
• If voters approve it, the tax takes effect July 1, 2027.
• The city acted after the Fresno County Board of Supervisors delayed the countywide Better Roads, Safe Streets initiative, which the county measure now likely won’t reach ballots until 2028.

What This Means for You

You’ll decide in November whether to approve this replacement tax. Your vote determines whether the city keeps the revenue it’s been using for transportation services and city jobs, or whether those $54 million in funds disappear when Measure C expires next summer.

The structure matters as much as the dollar figure. Measure C legally restricted the money to transportation — roads, transit, infrastructure. The city’s replacement is a general tax, which means once it’s in the general fund, the council can spend it on anything a majority votes for. The city says it will use the money for transportation services, but you’re being asked to trust that commitment rather than vote for a legal requirement.

If you vote yes, your sales tax rate stays exactly what it is now. If you vote no, the rate drops half a cent, but the city says transit service gets cut and city workers get laid off. That’s the trade the council is asking you to make.

What You Can Do

The measure is on the November 3 ballot. You can vote on it then.

What to Watch

The city wrote this as a general tax to make it easier to pass — a simple majority instead of the two-thirds threshold a special tax would require. That choice puts you in a position where you’re told the money will go to transportation, but the legal structure lets the council spend it on anything once it’s in the general fund. The question is whether you trust that commitment, or whether you think a tax sold as a transportation replacement ought to be legally required to fund transportation.

Mayor Dyer says he’ll veto this measure if the county’s Better Roads, Safe Streets initiative makes the November ballot by August 7. That means the shape of the choice you’ll face in November isn’t settled yet — it depends on what the county does in the next week.

The material names no breakdown of how the $54 million is currently spent or how the city plans to allocate the replacement revenue. Veterans advocate Yonas Paulos named transit cuts as the direct impact he’s worried about, but the material gives no figure for what share of the $54 million funds transit versus other city services. Without that breakdown, you’re being asked to approve the replacement with no way to hold the city to a specific use.