The $20 car tab fee would generate about $300,000 towards repairing the city’s deteriorating streets. In addition, the ordinance proposed by city Public Works Director Fred Buckenmeyer would increase solid waste utility tax from 3.4% to 12% to raise an additional $200,000 per year.
The City Council indicated a desire to earmark other city money in the city’s general fund for street maintenance. Those funds including allocating about $100,000 from property taxes, $100,000 from sales taxes, $250,000 from real estate taxes and $150,000 in reimbursements for truck traffic delivering sulfur to the port.
The car tab fee would be the only money coming in to city coffers that would be, by law, dedicated to street maintenance.
Under Buckenmeyer’s proposal, that would allocate about $1.1-million dollars a year for street repairs. He said, “We believe this is a very balanced source of funding.” He told the Council that, on average, the city has spent only $105,000 per year for the past 7 years.
He said that since 2007, 58 cities in Washington have established transportation benefit districts, but not all have set up funding mechanisms.
But, Council member Eric Johnson said, “this really won’t do much of anything.” He said that by adding an increase in property tax of 0.419 per $1,000 of assessed valuation would allow for an increase of $2.8-million for city streets. He added, “I don’t want to pass this expense on my kids.”
A report by a contractor for the city said it would cost $48-million over a ten-year period to bring city streets up the average level of city streets in Washington state, a so-called pavement condition index of 76.
Council member Matt Miller said that he’s not a fan of the transportation benefit district and that he’d like to see public comment on the car tab proposal.
Council member Liz Lovelett said she’d like to use city reserve funds.
Council member Ryan Walters requested that Buckenmeyer include a resolution outlining his two ten street projects.
Lovelett cast the only "no" vote.