SACOG director tacitly warns Elk Grove City Council about transportation funding challenges

High-level bureaucrats loathe making statements that can assess political environments when speaking in public meetings. Observers frequently read between the lines to interpret their meanings - think of the time spent analyzing remarks from any Federal Reserve chair over the last several decades.

At last night's Elk Grove City Council meeting, Sacramento Area Council of Government (SACOG) executive director James Corless presented the jurisdictional planning agency's long-term plans, the so-called 2025 Blueprint. The Blueprint is a long-term land use planning tool for SACOG's six-county area.Corless's presentation included remarks about transportation, one of the region's biggest challenges.

While he didn't explicitly say it, Corless suggested that transportation funding, which is heavily dependent on federal dollars, could be in jeopardy with the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate, the House of Representatives, and President Donald Trump. Using veiled terms, Corless implied securing federal transportation funding will be challenging.

The Trump administration is seeking to cut federal spending, and at times, Trump has suggested punishing so-called blue or Democratic-controlled states, including California, if they do not bend to his will. 

"The reality is, we are going to have a very hard time in the immediate," Corless told the city council. "We have to hold on to federal funding, and federal grant funding in particular." 

Corless also stressed the importance of preserving funding by working with the local congressional delegation in Washington, D.C., and noted challenges with state funding sources. With more electric vehicles in use and the state of California's ambitious plan to convert to an all-electric fleet, motor vehicles are more fuel efficient, which reduces gasoline usage and sales tax revenues. 

Municipalities like Elk Grove rely on gasoline sales tax revenues as a significant source of locally generated funds.   

"In the next five to 10 years, the state gas tax is going to be phased out," Coreless said. "So there is a big question about what is going to replace the gas tax." He added, "The revenue is declining sharply."

Aside from the transportation funding woes, Corless also acknowledged another regional problem - reckless driving. Corless noted the SACOG region is among the most hazardous in the state.  

"We also need to think about [transportation] safety," he said. "As a region, one of the things we are not proud of right now is that fatalities and injuries in our region are increasing, and we're actually worse off than regions around that state and the nation."