Community members announce a citizen-led initiative in Fresno on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, to put a transportation tax on the November 2026 ballot. Photo by Frank Lopez

Fresno County civic leaders announced a citizen-led proposal to improve transportation with the recent failure of Measure C to make the November ballot.

Mayor Jerry Dyer, Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias, several local mayors and Transportation 4 All, a coalition dedicated to better transportation in the county, held a news conference in front of the St. Paul Catholic Newman Center on Wednesday morning to announce a proposed budget to fund improvements backed by citizens’ initiative.

The proposal comes a week after the Fresno County Council of Governments (COG) Policy Board voted not to renew the $7 billion Measure C tax renewal.

“Without an ongoing transportation measure, the City of Fresno and other communities in Fresno County will continue to fall and be left behind. Street maintenance must be central to any plan moving forward,” Dyer said.

First passed by voters in 1986, Measure C expires June 30, 2027. A citizen initiative is the only hope of getting it on the November ballot. The initiative campaign, being led by the advocacy group Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability, is called Moving Forward Together.

The improvement plan, drafted through collaboration with taxpayers, community organizations, labor groups and local leaders, will fund an estimated $7.4 billion over 30 years to repair local streets, enhance safety and make transportation more accessible for everyone, they said.

“We visited every corner of our community to hear directly from residents to help us shape the future of transportation in our county and help us shape a plan that centers lived experience and aligns our tax dollars with how people actually move through their daily lives,” said Moving Forward Together Campaign Leader Veronica Garibay. “We are moving forward together with a plan to use local funding to fix what matters most — fixing our local roads, more and better transit, creating good jobs for future generation and keeping our kids safe.”

The proposed plan sets aside $4.8 billion, or 65% of the funding, to fix and improve local streets, potholes and neighborhood road conditions.

Funding to support transit operations and service improvements, including rural areas and reliable transit access, will receive $1.85 billion, 25% of the total.

Investments of $370 million, or 5% of the funding, will go to projects that improve travel between community and critical county wide connections.

Allocations for emerging transportation technologies and fare programs for equity and access is $296 million, which is 4% of the total funding.

To cover oversight, compliance and plan administration $74 million, or 1%, will be allocated.

The citizen-led effort will begin with gathering 35,000 signatures from county voters to get the measure on the ballot in November. Signatures must be gathered by April.

Arias was critical of Fresno County leadership on what happened to Measure C.

“The supervisors have failed to engage in the preservation and renewal of Measure C and let the community know their option to pursue its own initiative with a bottom to top process,” Arias said.

Supervisors who voted against Measure C on the COG policy board said the contentious process was a waste of taxpayer money.