Little Bang for Our Measure M Buck
by Larry Gilbert

The benefits of the sales tax are dwarfed by our total driving taxes

Last week I attended what amounted to a sales pitch for the proposed extension of the Measure M transportation sales tax, although the event was billed as a groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion of Crown Valley Parkway in Mission Viejo.

In addition to having a table with literature, Orange County Transportation Authority representatives displayed several large poster boards with photos and text pointing out the achievements and goals for Measure M. One guest speaker pointed out that over the 15 years since the inception of Measure M in 1990, the city of Mission Viejo has received $27.1 million in benefits. In a later discussion I had with Irwin Bornstein, the city's assistant city manager, he explained that the $27.1 million included $11.6 million in "take back" funds (based on the city's population) and $15.5 million in grants that the city had to compete for.

On hand to promote the extension of Measure M, not counting our City Council members, were Fifth District County Supervisor Tom Wilson, Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, R-Orange, and our OCTA representative, Susan Ritschel of the San Clemente City Council.

I expressed to Assemblyman Spitzer my opposition to this extension. I pointed out the huge sums that drivers pay to Sacramento yet get shortchanged on transportation spending because lawmakers found a loophole in Proposition 42, the 2002 state constitutional amendment to supposedly devote gas-tax revenue to transportation projects.

After the event, I drove the entire 17 square miles of Mission Viejo and counted 18 gas stations within our boundaries. The owner of one station told me that although our prices are higher than in north county, the average station sells in excess of 200,000 gallons per month. That figure, times 18 stations, equals 43.2 million gallons per year.

Californians pay 18 cents per gallon in state fuel taxes and 18.4 cents in federal fuel charges, which we will overlook for now. The service station prepays our sales taxes of 7.75 percent, which adds another approximately 17 cents per gallon, using an average price of $2.25 per gallon.

Forty-three million gallons per year, taxed as indicated above, totals $15 million a year to the state. Over the 15 years of Measure M, that's $225 million to the state from gasoline sales in Mission Viejo. And we haven't even added the extra half-cent sales tax Orange Countians have been paying the past 15 years under Measure M.

So to recap, my city government boasts of getting back $27.1 million in Measure M benefits from the county as compared to an estimated $225 million in state taxes collected on gasoline during the same 15-year period.

Elected officials around the county bemoan the fact that we are a "donor county" that pays more in taxes that we get back in government services. Yet, what the OCTA has spent in our city is "chump change" compared with the total driving-related taxes city residents have paid over the lifetime of Measure M.

We pay fuel tax to the federal government, fuel tax to the state government, the normal state sales tax and the extra half-cent Measure M sales tax, which will end in 2011 unless an extension is approved. Enough is enough.

Ask yourself if your city and county roads have been improved over the past 15 years with Measure M.

A final observation. The OCTA report on the Measure M extension says that the state Board of Equalization will be paid 1.5 percent of Measure M revenue as a collection fee. That adds up to another $178 million over the additional 30 years that won't be coming back to our transportation system.

Note: Friday is the last day to provide public comments on the proposed 30-year extension of Measure M. Send your information to: OCTA, Meas M Investment Plan. P.O. Box 14184, Orange, CA 92863.

After expected approvals by the OCTA board and the county's city councils, the extension will go to the voters in November. I urge a "no" vote on this extension.