Pacific officials are looking into additional sources for street funding, and the formation of a Transportation Benefit District is one possibility.
Jim Morgan, public works manager, presented the possibility at a public hearing during Tuesday’s city council meeting.
“It would open up some funds for doing street projects on non-federally registered roads,” he said, adding that only federally-registered roads qualify for grant programs. “If you want to start doing chip seal and some of the other preservation on the local residential streets, you have to have a source of money. This would be that source of funds that we can use on those things.”
Pacific can set up a TBD, which would allow it to charge an extra vehicle registration fee and sales and property taxes to fund road projects through the Revised Code of Washington. Any money raised through a TBD must be used for road projects.
Transportation Benefit Districts have become more popular within the state – local cities, such as Seattle use them – and Pacific officials believe they could aid the City’s quest to repair deteriorating sidewalks and streets. Last year, the City hired Infrastructure Management Services to complete a traffic study to help the city council prioritize its transportation projects. Morgan said most of Pacific’s roads were between “ideal” and “awful” conditions. Maintaining that level, he said, would cost the City $250,000-$300,000 per year.
Morgan estimated the City could generate $140,000-$150,000 per year in property taxes by an increase of 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, while, based on research of vehicles licensed in the city, license tabs could generate $100,000-$110,000. An increase in the sales tax by two-tenths of 1 percent, Morgan said, would generate about $125,000 per year.
Two councilmembers, Vic Kave and Clint Steiger, expressed concerns about extra taxes on license tabs, which cannot exceed $20 per state law without a vote. With voter approval, that tax could add as much as $100 per vehicle to the cost registration. Kave said he felt the council would “meet resistance” from residents having to pay for campers or trailers they pull behind their cars. Meanwhile, Steiger said, while he owns five cars, he only uses one on a regular basis, and he felt extra license tab fees would penalize him more than other drivers who use multiple cars more often.
“License tabs are not a fair and equitable way to fund this,” he said. “There’s got to be a more equal way to do this funding.”
But Morgan said a TBD would benefit the City in many ways. He said money collected could be saved for larger projects or to construct bicycle lanes or trails. Morgan said the extra revenue would help alleviate another annoyance.
“We don’t have to go out and fill potholes,” he said. “It’s a more efficient use of staff time if roads are maintained properly.”
Elsewhere
The council appointed Duwayne Gratz to the City’s planning commission to fill an unexpired term ending Dec. 31, 2020.
It authorized a execution of an agreement with the Washington State Patrol for the Statewide Electronic Collision and Ticket Online Records program;
And it authorized an $8,000 agreement with CivicLife to redevelop the City’s website.
