Independent review ensures that Measure M funds are being used as promised to voters
ORANGE – The Taxpayer Oversight Committee will hold its 27th annual public hearing on April 10 to ensure that Measure M, the county’s half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements, is being delivered as promised to Orange County voters.
This year’s public hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 10 at Orange County Transportation Authority headquarters, 550 S. Main St. in Orange.
The independent, 11-member oversight committee was formed to monitor OCTA’s use of Measure M funds, approve all changes to the Measure M plan, and hold annual public hearings on the expenditure of funds generated by the measure, which was first approved by voters in 1990 and renewed in 2006.
The original Measure M half-cent sales tax made possible more than $4 billion worth of transportation improvements. Since 1990, hundreds of local projects have been completed that help residents travel throughout the county every day. This includes improvements to freeways, widened streets, synchronized signals and improved intersections. Those funds also made possible Metrolink commuter-rail service in Orange County.
The renewed Measure M, also known as OC Go, is expected to generate $13.5 billion to fund transportation improvements through 2041. Freeways will receive 43 percent of the funding, streets and roads receive 32 percent and transit receives 25 percent of Measure M dollars. The freeway program includes funding for an environmental program that preserves and restores natural habitat and improves water quality.
For more information about Measure M or the Taxpayers Oversight Committee, visit www.octa.net/TOC or contact Emily Mason at emason@octa.net.
Those unable to attend the public meeting can submit comments by visiting www.octa.net/PublicHearing.
