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September 14 Update: The City Council is looking for public feedback regarding the potential implementation of a local Transportation Benefit District (TBD). The City will be hosting various information sessions at neighborhood meetings in September, October, and November (schedule). The City will distribute community surveys at the meetings to gather information regarding residents' opinions on creating a TBD in Kirkland. Data collected from the meetings and surveys will be posted online later this year.
Background
The City's Street Division is responsible for the maintenance of over 593 miles of roadway. A TBD is one possible tool to improve the City of Kirkland's capacity to repair, maintain, and improve the City's roadway network to align with the Community's needs and goals.
In a 2010 Kirkland citizen opinion survey, eighty eight percent of the respondents rated street maintenance as important to very important. The survey also indicated a deficiency between citizens' perception of Kirkland's street conditions compared with the relative importance citizens put on street maintenance. That is, there is room for improvement to meet Kirkland's expectations for street maintenance.
To sustain Kirkland's street maintenance programs, the City Council has approved a four-tiered strategy for increasing transportation/roads funding levels: 1) Efficiencies; 2) Regulatory and Policy Changes; 3) Partnerships; and 4) New Revenue Sources. See details.
Due to reduced revenue and an increased inflation rate, funding for roadway repair and maintenance is in need of a reliable revenue source. The City Council is considering a revenue source that is authorized through a TBD and funds transportation improvements through a vehicle registration fee.
State law provides for cities and counties to create a TBD which is a separate taxing district. Revenue options for a TBD provide for nonvoter approved and voter approved methods to impose a vehicle registration fee.
Existing Program
A variety of preservation techniques from crack sealing and structural patching to street overlays and road reconstruction are used to maintain the City's street network. The Street Preservation Program is funded through the City's Capital Improvement Program at $2.8M per year (2009-2010 adopted Budget).
Street Preservation Purchasing Power
The inflation rates impact the purchasing power for the established budget. The program assumes a 4% inflation rate however the actual inflation rate for asphalt for the 2002-2007 period has been approximately 12%.
Kirkland's Pavement Condition Scores Drop
The City uses a Pavement Management System to track, assess, and prioritize street treatments that allow the City to maximize limited maintenance dollars. Through visual inspections of defects (e.g. cracking), road maintenance data and other information, a given roadway section within the City is rated using a software program that generates a Pavement Condition Index (PCI). The City's goal is maintain its roadways at a 70 PCI rating.
In a "2008 State of the Streets" report to the City Council (February 2009) Kirkland's PCI rating was 65. This PCI rating is a decline from 70 in 2005 and 67 in 2002.
As a point of reference, a newly paved roadway has a PCI of 100, and over time the PCI decreases depending on environmental and other factors. The City's Pavement ratings were updated in the spring/summer of 2008 using the Pavement Management System. This rating process evaluated all of the same attributes that were evaluated in 2002 and 2005 thus allowing internally consistent and comparable results from year to year.
Need for Sustainable Road Maintenance Funding
The annual revenue required to attain and sustain a PCI of 70, the City's Level of Service goal since 2006, is highly dependent upon the prevailing inflation rate. The City estimates approximately $5-7M per year would sustain a PCI of 70. With Street Preservation current funding at $2.8M per year, the projected gap is between $2.2M and $4.2M per year.
If a TBD was enacted in Kirkland, all TBD funds would be used for transportation improvements to the City's infrastructure. The anticipated funding need to fully optimize the transportation system is far beyond the revenue potentially generated by a full $100 car tab. Kirkland's unmet needs in street preservation and non-motorized facilities alone could exceed $10M annually for an indefinite period. It is anticipated that a $20 car tab would provide between $680,000 to $750,000 annually in revenue.
State Recognizes Need to Fund Local
Transportation Projects
In 2007, cities were granted the authority to create a local Transportation Benefit District (TBD) imposing a vehicle registration fee (collected by the Washington State Department of Licensing) to fund local transportation projects.
A TBD fee is added to a vehicle licensing fee due when a vehicle owner buys new tabs. The City Council has the authority to impose a fee up to $20 per vehicle without voter approval, or up to $100 per vehicle (or other sources of funding) if approved by 60% or more of the votes within the TBD.
A Transportation Benefit District is an independent taxing district that can impose an array of taxes or fees either through a vote of the people or through Council action for the purposes of addressing local and regional transportation challenges.
A TBD is a quasi-municipal corporation and independent taxing district created for the sole purpose of acquiring, constructing, improving, providing, and funding transportation improvements within the district.
The statute allows a city or county to create a TBD by ordinance following the procedures in RCW 36.73 . The members of the legislative authority for a city or county are the governing body of the TBD.
TBD has several revenue options subject to voter approval:
- Property taxes - a 1-year excess levy or an excess levy for capital purposes;
- Up to 0.2% sales and use tax;
- Up to $100 annual vehicle fee or vehicle tolls.
TBD has two options not subject to voter approval:
- Annual vehicle fee up to $20 which is collected at the time of vehicle renewal.
- Transportation impact fees on commercial and industrial buildings.
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Contact
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Ray Steiger
Interim Public Works Director
425-587-3833
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Caring for your infrastructure to keep Kirkland healthy, safe and vibrant.
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