VoteNOon Measure S
Measure S at a glance
A new half-cent sales tax across Fresno County for 30 years. It starts when Measure C ends and would be run by Fresno COG. Here is how every dollar would be divided.
- 0.5%
- sales tax: half a cent on every dollar spent in Fresno County
- 30 years
- July 1, 2027, when Measure C expires, through 2057
- ~$7.4B
- estimated over its life, about $120 million in the first year
- Fresno COG
- would run it, replacing the Fresno County Transportation Authority
| Local streets & roads | 65% |
|---|---|
| Public transit | 25% |
| Regional streets & highways | 4% |
| Access & innovation | 4% |
| Airport | 1% |
| Administration | 1% |
The percentages are written into the ordinance for 30 years. Changing them would take another vote of the people.
Who’s watching the watchdog?
Measure S comes with an 11-member Citizens Oversight Committee. Every member is appointed by the Fresno COG policy board, the same agency that receives and spends the money.
There is a difference between a committee that can look and one that can act. Measure S gives its committee the first kind of power.
What the Measure S committee can do
- Review the annual financial and performance audits
- Hold public meetings at least four times a year
- Make recommendations to the Fresno COG board
- All 11 seats are filled by Fresno COG, the agency it reviews
What real oversight would add
- Stop or withhold spending it questions
- Require the board to answer its findings in public
- Choose its own members, independent of the agency it watches
None of that is in Measure S. Nothing in the measure requires Fresno COG to act on a recommendation.
Test your knowledge on Measure S
How long would Measure S tax Fresno County?
Numbers worth knowing
How Fresno County actually gets around, next to what Measure S would commit for 30 years. Tap a card for the chart and the sources.
of Fresno County commuters take the bus or other public transit to work, and less than 1% bike. Measure S would still put 25% ($1.85B) into transit for 30 years.
Source · Census ACS 2020–24 ↗fewer FAX bus rides a year: 11.24M in 2005, 9.61M in 2024.
Source · Fresno COG transit evaluation FY2024 ↗more daily driving countywide from 2021 to 2023: 21.95M to 23.24M vehicle miles a day, and 24.74M in 2024.
Source · Caltrans road data 2023 ↗riders on board the average FAX bus in service (2024). FAX averaged 22 boardings per bus-hour in 2025, under its own standard of 25.
Source · Federal NTD 2024 ↗Promised vs. delivered
Nearly 40 years of Measure C is the record to judge by: the promise, what actually happened, and where the numbers come from. This is the scorecard the Measure S committee isn’t empowered to enforce.
is Fresno’s road-and-sidewalk bill: a $505M street backlog in early 2023 became $1.2B by June 2025, plus $300M in sidewalk needs, under the current tax.
Source · Fresnoland · 6/4/25 ↗is Fresno’s average pavement score (PCI, 0–100) from 2008 to 2025. Roads slipped from Good to Fair during Measure C.
Source · City of Fresno · item 26-673 ↗Understand Measure S before you decide
What they say / What the record shows
“Not a new tax, just a continuation.”
Measure C expires in June 2027. Measure S would continue the half-cent sales-tax rate under a new 30-year measure with a different spending structure and governance framework.
Source · KVPR ↗“An independent citizens oversight committee.”
All 11 members are appointed by the Fresno COG policy board, the agency that receives and spends the money. The committee reviews audits, meets quarterly and makes recommendations. Nothing in the measure requires COG to follow them. Advice isn’t oversight.
Source · County Counsel analysis ↗“Fixes local roads first: 65% to local streets.”
65% is the headline. Another 25%, about $1.85 billion, is locked into transit for 30 years, and fewer than 1 in 100 county commuters use transit to get to work. The percentages are fixed; changing them would take another vote.
Source · Census ACS ↗“Better roads. Safe streets.”
Fresno has had Measure C for nearly 40 years. The city’s street backlog still grew from $505 million in early 2023 to $1.2 billion by mid-2025, plus about $300 million in sidewalk needs, and average pavement fell from 72 to 64. Before signing up for 30 more years, ask what changes.
Source · Fresnoland ↗“Citizen-led, with 32,000 signatures.”
About $490,000 went to an out-of-state signature-gathering company, and the county found 22,205 of 32,562 signatures valid. After supervisors voted to wait until 2028, AB 1923, first written as a hospital-loan bill, was rewritten in Sacramento to put it on the 2026 ballot.
Source · Fresnoland ↗“Supported by labor, business and community groups.”
Three funders gave nearly all of the $1.247 million raised through June: the Central Valley Community Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charity, $810,000; the Carpenters union’s issues PAC, $250,000; Fund for a Better Future, $150,000. Voters deserve to know who financed Measure S and what they expect from it.
Source · Fresno Bee · filings ↗“More and better transit.”
FAX carried 11.24 million rides in 2005 and 9.61 million in 2024, down 14.5%, while daily driving in the county rose about 6% from 2021 to 2023. Measure S would still commit 25% to transit for 30 years, with no way to move money to what works.
Source · Fresno COG ↗“A 10-year comprehensive review keeps it accountable.”
The first required review comes ten years in, after roughly a third of the tax has been collected and spent. Even then, the 65/25 split is written into the ordinance; only another vote of the people can change it.
Source · Yes on S FAQ ↗Follow the money
Yes on S had raised more than $1.8 million through October 2, Fresnoland reported, and spent about $1.44 million through September 19, including nearly $494,265 to an out-of-state signature-gathering company. Two funders supplied roughly $1.35 million of it. The largest, the Central Valley Community Foundation, is a 501(c)(3) charity. Which fund did its $848,098 come from, and who authorized it? It hasn’t said.
Also reported: Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability, $75,000; $47,400 from individuals.
Check our work
Every number on this site links to a public record: county election documents, Census data, federal transit data, city reports and local news coverage. We quote the Yes campaign only to respond to it.
See every source →Read the coverage
Take the pledge
I’m voting NO on Measure S on November 3. Send me a reminder before Election Day.
Op-eds
Op-ed · United for Fresno
Measure S: Are We Investing in the Transportation Fresno County Actually Uses?
Fresno County needs transportation investment.
Op-ed · United for Fresno
Measure S Promises More for Local Roads, But Voters Deserve Clearer Answers First
Cracked streets.
Op-ed · United for Fresno
Who Is Watching the Watchdog? Measure S and the Oversight Question
Imagine hiring someone to manage your business finances.
Op-ed · United for Fresno
Follow the Money Who Is Funding Measure S
Fresno County needs better roads, safer sidewalks and reliable public transportation.
Op-ed · United for Fresno
What If the New Tax Does Not Pass and Fresnans Keep $65 Million in Their Pockets?
Drive through almost any older Fresno neighborhood and the pavement tells its own story.
How and where to vote
Every registered voter in Fresno County gets a ballot by mail. Here are your options and deadlines, straight from the county and the state.
- By Mon, Oct 19
Register to vote
October 19, 2026 is the last day to register for this election. Check or update your registration online.
- Oct 20 to Nov 3
Missed the deadline? You can still vote
After October 19, you can conditionally register and vote a provisional ballot the same day, through Election Day.
- Now to 8 pm, Nov 3
Return your mail ballot
Drop your ballot in any official ballot drop box by 8 pm on Election Day, or mail it postmarked on or before November 3. Mailed ballots must arrive by November 10.
- From Sat, Oct 24
Vote in person
Early voting is open at the County Clerk’s office from October 5. Vote centers open October 24, 9 am to 5 pm, with all vote centers open from October 31.
- Tue, Nov 3
Election Day
Vote centers are open 7 am to 8 pm. Polls close at 8 pm.
Dates and times from the Fresno County Registrar of Voters and the California Secretary of State. Check their sites for the latest.