The agreement that created the County's Congestion Management Agency (CMA) requires referral of its budget to the member jurisdictions. The Regional Transportation Planning Committees (RTPCs) were established by the County and the cities to facilitate cooperative multi-jurisdictional transportation planning in the four subregions of the County, pursuant to the Measure J Transportation Improvement and Growth
Management Program. Some RTPCs require member jurisdictions to review their proposed annual budgets. The Board of Supervisors takes this action annually.
This Board Order also recommends approval of the budgeted financial contribution from Contra Costa County to the CMA and the RTPCs for FY 2018/19, as required by agreements creating these entities. Exhibit "A" compares the proposed County contribution for FY 2018/19 to previous years’ budgets for the different planning entities.
Contra Costa Transportation Authority (Authority)
The Contra Costa Transportation Authority was created in 1988 to manage funds generated by a special half-cent transportation sales tax ("Measure C"), which was approved by voters to fund local transportation projects. The Authority also administers the related voter-approved growth management program requirements. Measure J extended this sales tax and growth management program to 2034. In 1992, the County and the cities entered into a Joint Powers Agreement to designate the Authority as the County's CMA, pursuant to Proposition 111 (1990). Although California law no longer requires each county to have a designated CMA, the local jurisdictions have continued to support the CMA to facilitate the receipt and expenditure of state and federal transportation funds administered by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC).
Contra Costa County's annual contribution to the CMA is based on two components: 1) the formula [population and road miles] used by the State to distribute Proposition 111 gas tax revenue to cities and counties, and 2) the amount of state and federal revenue received by CCTA to fund CMA functions. CCTA primarily uses federal (Surface Transportation Program, Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality) and state (State Transportation Planning, Programming, and Monitoring Program) revenues to fund CMA activities. If these revenues are not sufficient, member agencies contribute the balance based on the aforementioned formula. As noted in the attached spreadsheet, local contributions are estimates due to the inability to accurately project fluctuating federal and state revenues.
For FY 2018/19, the Authority’s overall budget is $243,858,989. The Authority’s Budget for FY 2018/19 for its CMA function is $3.6 million. The County contribution is $182,532, a $10,899 decrease from the previous fiscal year’s $193,431 contribution (approximately a 6% decrease). The CMA budget was circulated to the Public Managers Association, which approved it on April 12, 2018. The highlights of the Planning/CMA budget include:
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$200,000 to update the Action Plans to address Senate Bill 743 (SB 743) requirements;
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$225,000 for Growth Management Program (GMP), project modeling and ongoing planning support;
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$250,000 for CMP support, modeling and monitoring;
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$200,000 for Model Maintenance & Consistency and Bicycle & Pedestrian Plans;
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$242,000 for the Community-Based Transportation Plan (CBTP);
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$16,000 for the completion of the San Pablo Ave. Multimodal; and
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$155,000 for PDA-related planning studies managed by the Authority on behalf of MTC.
Southwest Area Transportation (SWAT) Committee
SWAT is the RTPC established for the jurisdictions within the San Ramon Valley and the Lamorinda area. Administrative support, currently provided by contracting with the City of San Ramon, consists of compiling and distributing agendas, staff support at Committee meetings, providing summaries of each meeting, and coordinating the SWAT Technical Advisory Committee. SWAT is funded by equal contributions from the six participating jurisdictions. At the beginning of each billing period, which mirrors the fiscal year, SWAT provides an estimated annual budget and member jurisdiction dues, which for the past few years has been $32,500, with the County contribution $5,417.
However, SWAT is unique among the RTPCs in that the jurisdictions are billed the actual annual member dues at the end of the billing period. For FY 2017/18, the actual SWAT budget was $24,375 and the actual County contribution were $4,063, both 25% decreases. For FY 2018/19, the estimated SWAT budget and County contribution remain at $32,500 and $5,417, respectively.
Transportation Partnership and Cooperation (TRANSPAC) Committee
TRANSPAC is the RTPC established for the jurisdictions in North-Central Contra Costa. A Managing Director, who is contracted by TRANSPAC, provides administrative support. Half of the annual cost to fund TRANSPAC operations is apportioned equally to the six participating jurisdictions, while the other half is apportioned based on the jurisdictions’ share of population and road mileage in the TRANSPAC area. For FY 2018/19, the total TRANSPAC budget is $225,000. The County member contribution is $34,503.
Transportation Planning Committee for East Contra Costa County (TRANSPLAN)
TRANSPLAN Committee is the RTPC established for jurisdictions in Eastern Contra Costa. The Department of Conservation and Development provides the administrative support to the TRANSPLAN Committee, pursuant to a joint powers agreement that funds staff time and materials. The budget provides for administrative support to the TRANSPLAN Committee and its technical advisory committee, staff support to represent the Committee before other entities, and the ability to carry out the decisions of the Committee. The budget is funded by equal contributions from the five participating jurisdictions. The total FY 2018/19 TRANSPLAN budget is $31,000. The County member contribution for TRANSPLAN is $6,200.
Tri-Valley Transportation Council (TVTC)
TVTC, consisting of Contra Costa County and Alameda County jurisdictions in the Tri-Valley area, adopted a Joint Exercise of Powers (JEPA) agreement in 2013, formally establishing it as an independent entity. Responsibility for administrative support rotates every other year among the participating jurisdictions. TVTC’s budget for FY 2018/19 is $56,000. Budget revenues are generated from an average annual 1% "set aside" of the subregional transportation development impact fees and cover the agency's normal operating expenditures. Thus, the County does not contribute to TVTC.
West Contra Costa Transportation Advisory Committee (WCCTAC)
WCCTAC is the RTPC established for jurisdictions and transit agencies in West Contra Costa. WCCTAC has its own dedicated staff, headed by an executive director. WCCTAC's full budget includes the budget for WCCTAC Operations (Advisory Committee), WCCTAC Traffic Demand Management (TDM), and WCCTAC Sub-regional Transportation Mitigation Program (STMP). The full WCCTAC budget has risen in FY 2018/19 primarily due to the undertaking of an Express Bus Implementation Plan and funding of several STMP projects. Member jurisdiction dues support WCCTAC Operations. WCCTAC consists of nine member jurisdictions, each with one seat/vote, except the City of Richmond, which has three, for eleven total seats/votes. The member jurisdiction dues is determined by dividing the WCCTAC Operations budget (after deductions from other funding sources) by the number of seats held; therefore, the County pays one-eleventh (9.1%) of WCCTAC's Operations budget. The FY 2018/19 full budget for WCCTAC is $6,242,704. The County member contribution is $47,049.
If the report is not accepted, County staff will follow up with a request for direction on how to fulfill our fiscal and policy obligations relative to funding the Congestion Management Agency and the Regional Transportation Planning Committees.