In accordance with the Policies & Project Descriptions for the Transportation Safety & Investment Plan, a Citizens Oversight Committee representing a diverse range of community interests was formed within six months of voter approval of Measure X in November 2016. Members of the committee were appointed to serve by the Transportation Agency Board of Directors on March 22, 2017.
The committee was formed in order to facilitate the Transportation Agency's Transportation Safety and Investment Plan and Retail Transaction and Use Tax Ordinance 2016-01. The Ordinance, known as Measure X, is anticipated to raise $600 million over 30 years. The Oversight Committee's purpose is to be an additional layer of transparency so that the public is assured that the Transportation Agency, the County of Monterey and the participating cities are operating consistent with the terms of the Ordinance and funding agreements.
The Committee's duties as defined in the Policies & Project Descriptions for the Transportation Safety & Investment Plan are as follows:
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Conduct independent audits to assure that funds are being expended in accordance with requirements of the Transportation Safety & Investment Plan;
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Review and make recommendations on any proposed changes to the plan, prior to the Transportation Agency Board consideration;
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Review and comment on project delivery schedules as represented in the Strategic Expenditure Plan and make recommendations to the Transportation Agency on any proposals for changing project delivery prioritize; and,
- Prepare annual reports regarding the administration of the program, to be presented to the Transportation Agency Board of Directors and available for public review.
On April 26, 2017, the Transportation Agency Board of Directors approved the Measure X Citizens Oversight Committee Bylaws which governs the committee. Subsequently, committee members volunteered to conduct the first annual audit. The Measure X Citizen Oversight Committee established a subcommittee on January 15, 2019 to conduct independent audits thereafter of the revenues and expenditures of Measure X.
After consulting with the Oversight Committee officers in April 2019, staff drafted bylaws modifications to change the term of the office for the committee's Chair and Vice Chair from one year to two years; and proposed creating a new Subcommittee Audit Chair, and other changes to clarify the language in the attendance, voting, communication and conflicts of interest sections of the bylaws.
The Committee voted unanimously on July 16, 2019 to support the proposed changes and recommended that the revisions be submitted to the Transportation Agency's Board of Directors for approval. On August 21, 2019, the Transportation Agency's Board of Directors approved the recommended revisions and the Oversight Committee elected the Committee's Chair to serve as the Chair of the Measure X Audit Subcommittee on October 15, 2019.
The duties of the subcommittee as defined above are to conduct the audit, report their findings to the full oversight committee and to prepare the Measure X Annual Report. The committee is also required to present their findings and the Measure X Annual Report to the TAMC Board of Directors; and to make their report available to the public.
On November 16, 2021, the Measure X Citizens Oversight Committee elected members, Natalie Olivas, Johnathan Geisler and Victoria Beach to serve on the audit subcommittee with Chair Barbara Meister and Vice-Chair Paula Getzelman to conduct the FY2020/21 audit and prepare the annual report.
The Measure X Audit Subcommittee conducted the independent audit and prepared the Measure X Annual Report in January 2022. The attached document provides the results of the subcommittee's audit and the Measure X Oversight Committee's Annual Report.