DATE: January 27, 2026
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Steven E. White, Director
Department of Public Works and Planning
SUBJECT: Transportation Funding Claim for FY 2025-26
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute the Transportation Funding Claim to the Fresno Council of Governments for FY 2025-26 in the amount of $11,144,129 to provide transit services in unincorporated areas and for other transportation purposes; and
2. Adopt Resolution requesting the Fresno Council of Governments to allocate specified funds from the Local Transportation Fund and State Transit Assistance Fund to the County of Fresno for transit services in unincorporated areas and for other transportation purposes.
REPORT
Approval of the recommended actions will authorize the allocation of State Transportation Development Act (TDA) funds, in the form of Local Transportation Fund (LTF) and State Transit Assistance Fund (STA) for the County’s share of costs to provide transit services in unincorporated areas and for other transportation purposes. TDA statutes also provide for funding of regional transportation planning, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, and, as available, streets and roads. Transit services for residents of the unincorporated areas are provided by Fresno Area Express (FAX) and Handy Ride, Clovis Transit (Round Up), the Fresno County Rural Transit Agency (FCRTA), and the Consolidated Transportation Services Agencies (CTSAs), which provide social services transit. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
If your Board does not approve the recommended actions, TDA fund disbursements will be delayed to agencies providing transit service to County residents and for streets and roads funds made available to the County after transit needs are met.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. Allocations are made using TDA funds apportioned to the County for predetermined purposes.
Article 3 (Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities) funds in the amount of $181,728 and Article 8A (Streets and Roads) funds in the amount of $4,652,553 will be received from the TDA and deposited into the Department of Public Works and Planning (Department’s) Road Fund 0010, Org 4510. Funds apportioned for regional transportation planning and the various transit providers are allocated directly to other agencies by the Fresno Council of Governments (FCOG) and recorded as revenue and expenditure transactions under the Department’s Transit Services Org 4700.
DISCUSSION:
FCOG, as the Regional Transportation Planning Agency for the County, is responsible for apportioning the LTF and STA funds to member agencies and to transit providers as directed by the member agencies.
LTF funds are derived from a fourth (1/4) cent of the general sales tax collected statewide. The total amount of LTF funds apportioned to the County and its cities is based on the ratio of sales tax collected from each county in the State. Within the County, LTF funds are apportioned among the unincorporated areas of the County and the cities based on their relative populations.
STA funds are derived from the statewide sales tax on diesel fuel. Apportionment of STA funds is based in part on population and in part on the revenue collected by each transit operator. STA funds can only be used for mass transportation purposes.
Table 1: TDA Claim Calculations
Table 1 is provided to accompany the following discussion regarding the apportionment of TDA funds:
The total TDA claim of $11,144,129 is the sum of the County’s LTF apportionment of $9,089,839; $456,694 from a tax sharing agreement (Agreement No. 08-139) with the City of Coalinga approved in 2008; and the County’s STA funds in the amount of $1,597,596.
LTF regulations require that a portion of the County’s LTF allocation be apportioned as follows:
• $181,728 for the construction of Article 3 (Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities) projects.
• $448,654 for Article 4.5 (Social Services Transit) provided by the CTSAs.
• $253,784 for regional transportation planning carried out through FCOG.
After deducting the above total of $884,166 from the County’s base LTF apportionment of $9,089,839, a remaining balance of $8,205,673 is available. To determine the total amount accessible for Article 8A (Streets and Roads), this remainder is combined with two additional funding sources: $456,694 from the tax sharing agreement with the City of Coalinga, and $1,597,596 in STA funds apportioned to the County. Together, these amounts total $10,259,963, which represents the County’s available funding for Article 8A purposes.
The next step in calculating the amount available to the County for Article 8A (Streets and Roads) involves deducting the County’s share of costs for non-social services transit provided to unincorporated areas. These transit costs are determined using a formula that accounts for operating expenses, farebox revenues, and ridership specific to those unincorporated regions. FAX and Handy Ride services are provided pursuant to a 1986 agreement between the County and the City of Fresno for public transportation services in the unincorporated portions of the Fresno metropolitan area.
The amounts from the County’s apportionment for those transit agencies are as follows:
• The amount for the FCRTA from the County’s apportionment is $1,030,800.
• The amount for FAX and Handy Ride from the County’s apportionment is $4,455,149.
• The amount paid to Clovis Transit from the County’s apportionment is $121,461. This amount is a 99.10% increase from the amount paid in FY 2024-25. The amount paid to Clovis Transit is based on several data points, one of which is the number of Round Up paratransit service trips in Tarpey Village. Per Agreement 04-193, Agreement for Public Paratransit Transportation Services in the Tarpey Village Unincorporated Island of the Fresno-Clovis Metropolitan Area, approved by the Board on May 18, 2004, “the County’s contribution to Clovis Transit for Round Up paratransit service in Tarpey Village for each fiscal year is for the actual costs of operation for that portion of riders from Tarpey Village as tabulated by Clovis Transit for the prior fiscal year”. With newly assigned staff at Clovis Transit, a correction to the trip count to include trips starting and ending in Tarpey Village was used to calculate the Clovis Transit amount for FY 2025-26, whereas only trips that began in Tarpey Village were used in previous calculations.
After deducting the County’s share of non-social services transit costs, which total $5,607,410, from the previously calculated amount of $10,259,963, the remaining funds available for Article 8A (Streets and Roads) stand at $4,652,553.
Table 2: TDA Claim Calculations
Table 2 shows the County’s FY 2025-26 apportionments compared with those from FY 2024-25. The following points are provided to clarify the differences in the apportionment amounts:
• An overall decrease in the Estimated Total TDA Claim amount for FY 2025-26 provided by FCOG, lead to decreases in funding for Article 3, Article 4.5, and Regional Transportation Planning.
• FCOG experienced a combined $3,471,008 LTF and STA revenue shortfall during FY 2024-25 which impacted the adjusted FY 2024-25 claim amounts and the estimated revenues for FY 2025-26 upon which the County apportionment is based.
• The TDA funding amount to FAX and Handy Ride ($4,455,149) decreased 11.24%. This is due to the overall decrease in the FY 2025-26 Estimated Total TDA Claim amount for County and to a reduction in the FAX and Handy Ride FY 2024-25 apportionment based on adjustments made using actuals provided by FCOG.
Conclusion
The calculated Article 8A funding available in FY 2025-26 for maintenance of the County roadway system increased 6.09% ($267,157) from FY 2024-25.
OTHER REVIEWING AGENCIES:
FCOG staff reviewed the claim and agree with the allocation of funds, which is consistent with and fulfills County obligations to adopted budgets of each transit agency. City of Fresno staff reviewed the FAX and Handy Ride calculations and adjustment, and submitted their own claim based on it. The calculations determining the contributions for the FCRTA and the City of Clovis were provided to the Department by those agencies and were reviewed by Department staff.
Following your Board’s approval of the claim, it will be submitted to the FCOG Transportation Technical Committee and Policy Advisory Committee for review. Then the claim will be submitted to the FCOG Board for approval.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #58, August 19, 2025
BAI #62, June 24, 2025
BAI #53, September 19, 2023
BAI #40, April 25, 2023
BAI #40, August 24, 2021
BAI #33, May 1, 2020
BAI #52, April 9, 2019
BAI #36, April 3, 2018
BAI #36, May 2, 2017
BAI #43, March 25, 2008
BAI #40, May 18, 2004
BAI #33A, November 18, 1986
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Tables 1 and 2
On file with Clerk - TDA Claim Form
On file with Clerk - Resolution
CAO ANALYST:
Maria Valencia