Fresno County supervisors delayed a decision Tuesday on whether to place the Better Roads Safe Streets initiative on the November ballot, opting instead to consider additional review of the proposed transportation measure.

The delay could create a challenge for supporters of the initiative, who must meet the final Aug. 7 deadline to qualify for the November election.

After hours of testimony, board chair Garry Bredefeld made the motion to order the study of the transportation tax’s potential impacts on the county. Supervisors Buddy Mendes and Nathan Magsig joined Bredefeld in voting yes on the study.

Supervisors Luis Chavez and Brian Pacheco voted against the study. Before the vote, Chavez offered a compromise in which the county moved forward with a study while also advancing the initiative to the ballot for voters to decide. That suggestion fell on deaf ears, however.

Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters James Kus said his office had identified “just under” 21,000 valid signatures for the Measure C replacement initiative as of Monday, July 6, evening and expected the petition to meet the required threshold.

While the board’s role in approving the petition is largely procedural, supervisors can request county department reports examining the potential impacts of the half-cent sales tax proposal.

Board Chair Garry Bredefeld previously said those reports could review how the measure would affect the county’s General Plan, infrastructure funding, business attraction and retention, employment rates, and traffic.

“We have two choices. We can just approve it to go on the ballot, or we can order a report … that looks at various issues related to the measure,” Bredefeld said.

Bredefeld has criticized the groups behind Better Roads Safe Streets, arguing the initiative’s funding structure places too much emphasis on alternative transportation options rather than road repairs.

New Initiative to Replace Measure C

The proposed measure would replace the county’s existing Measure C transportation sales tax, which has funded major infrastructure projects including improvements to Highway 180, Highway 168, and local roads and bridges.

Measure C has generated more than $2 billion over 40 years and helped leverage about $8 billion in additional state and federal transportation funding.

If the replacement measure does not make the November ballot, the current tax would expire at the end of the year, and the next opportunity for a transportation tax proposal would not come until 2028.

This is a developing story. More information will be added as it becomes available.