St. Helena officials are considering placing a quarter-cent or half-cent sales tax hike before St. Helena voters in an attempt to generate money for local road maintenance.

The city council soon will hear a consultant’s presentation about the feasibility of a sales tax increase, which would require approval from two-thirds of St. Helena voters. Officials said a quarter-cent sales tax increase would generate an estimated $580,000 annually. A half-cent hike would generate $1.16 million.

City officials say about $2 million is needed for street maintenance annually for the next five years.

Another $30 million is needed to pay for long-term improvements such as traffic signals in south St. Helena, the extension of Adams Street to Silverado Trail, the replacement of bridges on Valleyview and Pratt Avenue, downtown accessibility improvements, and pedestrian bridges over York Creek near the elm tunnel and Sulphur Creek at Oak Avenue.

“There’s no way we can maintain our roads without some other funds,” said St. Helena Councilmember Eric Sklar. “We used to get that money from the state and federal governments, but that money is gone. … (A road tax) is the only realistic solution to having roads that are sound and safe and don’t destroy our cars, which is a hidden expense of bad roads.”

A sales tax would increase revenue while allowing the city to access matching funds from the state. That money is typically available only to “self-help” jurisdictions that have their own road tax.

Mayor Del Britton said upping the sales tax would ensure that tourists pay their fair share for the wear and tear they put on local roads.

The success of a local sales tax hike could hinge on the fate of a statewide 1.5-cent sales tax being proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to close the state’s  estimated $41 billion budget deficit.

Councilwoman Bonnie Schoch agreed a road tax would be one of the best ways to raise desperately needed revenue, but she said that given the current economy and Schwarzenegger’s proposal, she’s not sure a local road tax would pass at this time.

Just proposing a tax hike is expensive and time-consuming, Schoch said.

“I’m not sure this city is in a position where we’re ready to put out that kind of money right now,” particularly at a time when the council is considering slashing city jobs, she said.

Sklar admitted that 2009 probably isn’t the best time to put a tax on the ballot, but said it would be worthwhile to start researching it within the next few months.

Polling suggests that St. Helena voters would be more likely to approve a transportation tax than voters in the rest of the county, Sklar added.

In the last three years, county officials have made two attempts to convince voters to approve such a tax.

A half-cent initiative that highlighted improvements to Jamieson Canyon Road was rejected in 2006, with only 52.4 percent of the electorate voting ‘yes.’ Another initiative, this time less focused on one project, was abandoned last year after officials decided it probably wouldn’t pass.

Leaders of Napa and other valley cities have considered possible transportation taxes, but have said they’d prefer to see a county-wide solution.