A slim majority of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors voted to delay placing the Better Roads, Safe Streets transportation sales tax measure on the ballot. The decision, made on Tuesday, will likely preclude the measure from appearing on ballots until 2028.

Supervisors’ Decision

Supervisors Buddy Mendes and Nathan Magsig joined Board Chair Garry Bredefeld in a contentious vote in support of the study. Magsig, identified by his fellow supervisor as the “deciding vote,” joined his conservative colleagues after asking more than an hour of questions of the Better Roads drafters, concluding that he ultimately felt the measure was overly “prescriptive” to the county.

“It’s so prescriptive on how the dollars have to be spent,” Magsig said, “I’m concerned that we open ourselves up to litigation.”

Reactions to the Decision

The board majority’s decision came despite several pleas leading up to the vote to respect the will of thousands of voters that signed on in support of placing the plan on the November ballot. Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer called the decision “voter suppression,” while Mendota Mayor Victor Martinez accused the board of being “racists” and stalling the measure because they “don’t like us” and “don’t want us to fix our roads.”

Supporters of Better Roads packed the boardroom to capacity on Tuesday, including elected officials and residents. A handful of mayors and consultants also came out to urge the supervisors to delay placing the measure on the ballot.

Now, Better Roads’ only path to the November ballot hinges on county staff completing their study of the measure quicker than the 30 days they were allotted to do so. After that, the board would then have to call a special meeting prior to the Aug. 7 deadline to qualify for the ballot.

Original reporting: Fresnoland — read the source article.