SMART Decision Making
Citizen Feedback is Critical for Success
SUMMARY
The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) District (District) was established by state legislation in 2002 to form a passenger rail system. Measure Q of 2008 provided twenty years of funding by taxpayers and established the structure of the organization, with a Board of Directors (BOD), General Management, and a Citizens Oversight Committee (COC). Through Measure Q, the District received the proceeds of a quarter-cent sales tax that could be used to solicit a war chest of bond funding. That is, projected tax revenue could be used to back a bond issue and immediately obtain a large amount of funding to design, construct, and operate a passenger rail service along the Highway 101 corridor through a significant portion of Marin and Sonoma Counties.