Pacific officials are planning a public forum to enable residents to provide feedback on the proposed formation of a transportation benefit district.
During Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, Public Works Director Jim Morgan suggested that the council suspend its normal rules for the Oct. 17 workshop, and allow public comment.
Councilmember Vic Kave supported the idea but wants residents to have a detailed plan about how TBD revenue would be spent.
“I think that’s something the citizens should weigh in on,” he said.
If a public hearing is set for Oct. 17, the council could vote to approve a TBD during its Oct. 24 meeting.
Morgan presented the possibility of a TBD during the July 12 council meeting. He explained that only federally registered roads qualify for grant programs, which means the City needs a source of funding to perform preservation work on some residential streets.
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 – cities, such as Seattle, use them – and Pacific officials believe they could help 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 streets 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 with 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.
Based on his research of other cities with TBD’s, most have only taxed car 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 of registration.
