San Jose, Calif. (KCBS)  -- After the defeat on Measure A in Santa Clara County, transportation officials are scrambling to come up with alternative ways to fund the BART extension to San Jose.

The price on the extension has become significantly more expensive in the past five years.  It's money the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority had hoped would come from Measure A.

The ballot measure would have raised $160 million dollars a year through a half-cent increase in the sales tax.

But now that voter's rejected that idea, the VTA's Bernice Alaniz told KCBS Reporter Matt Bigler, "the VTA will look at other funding possibilities and opportunities."

One opportunity could be the multi-billion dollar transportation bond measure on the November ballot.

But VTA board member Greg Perry said without knowing exactly where the money is coming from, the agency should go back to the drawing board with BART.  "There's not enough money to do everything, so, we're going to have to go after the other projects where we can do more with less and get it done with the money we already have.

County Board of Supervisors President Jim Beall told KCBS Reporter Mike Colgan that he believes the Measure A sales tax campaign was hurt, in part, by all the negative attack ads in other races.

"When the voters get so much negative in their perspective, they don't think positive about anything. They become negative about everything," Beall said. "I think that hurt us in terms of trying to sell a vision of good-quality services in Santa Clara County and that's part of the reason why we failed."

The tax increase would have pushed the county rate to 8.75 percent, one of the highest in the state and apparently too much for residents, who rejected the measure with 58 percent voting no and 42 percent yes.

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