Measure M, the half-cent sales tax administered by the Orange County Transportation Authority that funds street and highway improvements in Orange County, established a Taxpayer Oversight Committee composed of members of the public in order to ensure those funds are spent in accordance with the uses specified in Measure M.
The Taxpayer Oversight Committee will hold its 31st annual public hearing this coming Tuesday, June 14 at at Orange County Transportation Authority headquarters, 550 S. Main St. in Orange. The hearing begins at 6:00 p.m. and is open to the public.
The independent, 11-member oversight committee was formed to monitor OCTA’s use of the local sales tax funding, approve all changes to the investment plan and hold annual public hearings on the expenditure of funds. The half-cent tax for transportation was first approved by voters in 1990 and renewed in 2006.
Measure M will continue funding balanced and sustainable transportation improvements through 2041 with revenues expected to exceed $13 billion. The voter-approved funding plan allocates 43 percent to freeways, 32 percent to streets and roads, 25 percent to transit and includes two environmental programs.
More than $4 billion worth of transportation improvements were made possible with the first approval of Measure M. Since 1990, hundreds of local projects have been completed that help residents travel throughout the county every day. This includes improvements to freeways and streets, synchronized signals and improved intersections. Measure M also made possible Metrolink commuter-rail service in Orange County, which the measure continues to fund.
The program is committed to relieving congestion, maintaining infrastructure, supporting rail and community transit options, synchronizing signals across jurisdictions, reducing costs for senior and persons with disabilities, preserving and restoring habitat in perpetuity, and reducing transportation-related pollution in Orange County.
Those unable to attend the public meeting can submit comments by visiting www.octa.net/PublicHearing.
For more information about the Taxpayer Oversight Committee, visit www.octa.net/TOC.
