SMART Sales Tax ReUp On Healdsburg City Council Agenda Tonight

HEALDSBURG, CA — The SMART battle is heating up ahead of a tax renewal vote in June.

Reasons to re-up SMART funding are on tonight’s 6 p.m. City Council meeting, even as the agency faces renewed political opposition ahead of the critical June ballot measure.

Political strategist Suzanne Smith will discuss the upcoming SMART Sales Tax Renewal following a request in September 2025 by Healdsburg City Council members.

The meeting comes at a pivotal moment for the commuter rail system, which relies heavily on a quarter-cent sales tax to operate and fund expansions.

Voters first approved funding for SMART 2008, according to the group behind the SMART initiative. Rather than an increase on top of the original amount, the measure extends the tax for another 30 years instead of letting it expire in 2028.

Without renewed funding, SMART would not be able to continue operations at current levels, let alone expand service, according to the SMART group's website.

Voters on June 2 will decide whether to extend the measure, this time needing only a simple majority following a 2024 bill authored by former State Senator Bill Dodd, D-Napa.

Dodd’s legislation, SB 904, was intended to help sustain SMART’s financial health, while supporting passenger rail expansion to more North Bay communities.

Opposition

The presentation arrives at the intersection of local development debates and a heated political campaign over the region’s commuter rail future, including stops in Healdsburg and Cloverdale.

SMART officials and supporters argue that extending the tax is essential for long-term financial viability and to support the rail system’s eventual expansion.

Opponents counter that the project is expensive, low-ridership, and misaligned with local priorities, framing the debate as a clash between regional transit goals and taxpayer concerns.

The Gallaher family, Sonoma County developers and longtime SMART opponents, underwrote a new book titled “The Great Train Heist” by Michael J. Coffino, a 182-page denunciation of SMART. According to the Press Democrat, the book critiques “every aspect of the SMART train system, from conception to current operation."

Molly Gallaher Flater, daughter of Bill and Cindy Gallaher and chief operating officer of Windsor-based Gallaher Companies, has been a central figure in past opposition campaigns. She spent nearly $2 million six years ago to defeat Measure I, a prior attempt to extend SMART’s sales tax through 2059. The measure lost by 11 percentage points in 2020, failing to reach the two-thirds threshold, according to reports.

The Gallahers’ support of Coffino’s book is widely seen as a strategic move ahead of the June vote. Observers describe it as a “Hail Mary pass” to influence public opinion and deny SMART the funding lifeline it needs.

Following the presentation, agenda items include:

• A $30,000 increase to DC Electric Group’s contract, totaling $75,000.
• Municipal code updated for small-lot housing and subdivisions to comply with recent state laws.
• Cryptosporidium Treatment Project as complete and authorize filing of the Notice of Completion.
• Tentative and final map fees related to new housing legislation.
• The 2025 Housing Annual Progress Report and submitting the report to state agencies.
• Draft manual of Procedures and Protocols review.

6 p.m. on Monday, March 16
City Hall Council Chamber
401 Grove Street
Online: healdsburg.gov/zoom