Roads should be county’s first priority

What if we could fix more roads, bring home more state and federal transportation dollars, and do it without raising the overall tax burden?

The San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG) board and the county Board of Supervisors voted to remove Measure H from the November ballot after consultants concluded it did not have the support needed to pass. No one who has spent a day in this economy should be surprised by that.

The rising cost of living is hitting everyone right between the eyes. Families and small businesses are paying more for housing, food, energy, insurance, and nearly everything else.

County leaders framed the choice incorrectly. Rather than asking voters to burden themselves with another half-cent tax, the county should identify an existing locally controlled tax or levy that can be reduced by an equivalent amount and replaced with a dedicated transportation tax. The offset must be guaranteed, not promised, and it must take effect when the new tax begins.

Taxpayers would pay no more overall, but the county would gain a dedicated source of local funding that could be used to fix roads and provide the matching funds needed to compete for additional state and federal money.

That approach recognizes both realities. Our roads need serious attention, and the people expected to pay for them are already stretched.

Any future measure should put roads first, identify the projects to be completed, require independent audits, prevent the money from being diverted, and include a firm expiration date.

I have said before that the shortest distance between the taxpayer and the result is local control. But local control must produce results and respect the taxpayer.

The Board of Supervisors and SLOCOG should not abandon the problem. The board should place roads in the first tier of county priorities.

Adam Verdin

Arroyo Grande

This article appears in Aug 27 – Sept 3, 2026.