The City of Paso Robles has been receiving six million dollars annually from a measure sales tax that was set to end earlier this year. Measure E-12 revenues have helped fund 44 different street repair road projects since 2012 and aided the adopted six year street plan that started in 2019 that allowed businesses and residents to track when their street was set to see reparations.
“Without the sales tax measure, we would have been receiving about $500,000 a year annually from gas tax, which could be reduced now that a lot of people are driving electric cars," City Projects Engineer Ditas Esperanza said.
With the passage of the half-cent sales tax, Esperanza says the annual revenue jumps to an estimated seven million dollars.
“People need to understand that it's messy and it's going to be inconvenient. You're going to have to detour. There's going to be a mess on the road. So even though it's nice that we can fix the road, to get there is not exactly comfortable," Esperanza added. "So they just need to be patient."
City staff and the public will now help build a new road repair plan at upcoming meetings held at City Hall. There won't be a final plan for which roads will be focused on for a few more weeks, according to Esperanza.
“I feel like it is so important to spend the money and keep that progress going," Paso Robles resident Gail Rose said. "The roads can be so full of potholes and it's just scary and dangerous to not keep up with.”
