• Board Recognizes September Employees of the Month
• Measure M Expected to Generate $15 Billion Through 2041

The OCTA board recognized three employees of the month for September.

The honors went to:

• Kimberly Roberson, a coach operator who started her career at OCTA in 2018. In addition to achieving nearly four years of safe driving, Kim has received 15 compliments from passengers praising her kindness and excellent customer service.
• Rudy Lopez, a journeyman mechanic who joined OCTA in 2001. He is currently assigned to the second shift at the Santa Ana Base. Rudy has exemplified teamwork by assisting his fellow mechanics and mentoring apprentice mechanics and mechanic helpers.
• Sara Grishkewich, a Project Controls Administrative Specialist in the Capital Programs Division, who began her career at OCTA in 2005. Throughout the pandemic, Sara continued to resourcefully procure materials to ensure her work assignments were not delayed or compromised.

The OCTA board received its updated annual long-term forecast for Measure M, showing that the Orange County voter-approved sales tax is expected to generate $15 billion for transportation improvements through 2041.

The updated forecast is 13.6% higher than last year’s forecast because of Orange County’s continuing economic recovery from the impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

As a result of the improving economy, final Measure M sales tax receipts for fiscal year 2021-22 came in at $425 million, which is the highest amount ever received.

OCTA will continue to monitor the short- and long-term impacts of coronavirus variants, gas prices, inflation, interest rates, supply chains and the Ukraine war on Measure M sales tax revenues to ensure that all promises to voters are kept. An update will be presented to the board in November when they will be asked to consider the 2022 Measure M Next 10 Delivery Plan, which sets a course for delivering transportation improvements over the next decade.