BATTLE GROUND — The Vancouver City Council wanted to look into additional sources of street funding revenue last year, and one of the new fees for city residents goes into effect on Friday.
As part of the discussions last year, the city formed a transportation benefit district, which then voted for a $20 vehicle license fee, charged to residents when renewing vehicle tabs.
The same day Vancouver’s license fee goes into effect, Battle Ground’s vehicle fees — which charge $20 when renewing or purchasing new vehicle tabs — will turn 1, after the city formed its own transportation benefit district in 2014. In it’s first full year, it raised $203,000 for transportation improvements in the city.
The Revised Code of Washington allows a city or county government to set up a transportation benefit district, which can then charge an extra vehicle registration fee or sales tax to fund local transportation projects. The money raised through a transportation benefit district can’t be diverted, and must go to transportation improvements.
Transportation benefit districts are becoming more popular in the state, and the Woodland City Council recently established one to discuss whether to put a 0.2 percent sales tax on the ballot in November.
In its first full year, the Vancouver license fee is expected to bring in $2.4 million, according to Bill Whitcomb, asset management manager for the city’s Public Works department. Whitcomb said the city conducted surveys with residents last year to discuss what sort of street work the city needs to get done, what current funds could pay for and alternatives to bring in more money to improve streets.
“Finding dedicated resources for street funding is a struggle,” he said. “The transportation benefit district is one element of a much larger street funding strategy.”
The strategy includes the vehicle license fees, a business license surcharge hike, a utility tax increase, new state gas tax revenue and funds from retired debt service on past road projects. In 2017, the first year all of those fees will be collected, the city expects to bring in $5.5 million, Whitcomb said. By the end of 2021, that number is expected to go up to $10.5 million, he added.
With a transportation benefit district, the money raised can’t be diverted to anything else. It must go to transportation improvements.
“People are always concerned when paying something extra,” said Bonnie Gilberti, Battle Ground spokeswoman. “I think I got six or seven calls, but that’s it. The fact that it’s going to only roads helped.”
While the benefit district means the money must go to roads, the kinds of projects it can go to range a bit, and Vancouver will use its funds a bit differently from Battle Ground.
Battle Ground is still digging through a backlog of deferred maintenance projects from the recession.
“The need is greater than the revenue,” Battle Ground Public Works Director Scott Sawyer said. “This gives us a good plan for chipping away at it.”
Last year, the city used funds for crack sealing and slurry sealing, which took place in the northern part of Battle Ground, right around Onsdorff Boulevard.
The money from the district this year will go toward crack and slurry sealing on roads in northwest Battle Ground, near Parkview Trails and Lewisville Meadows, as well as in the southeast part of the city around Clover Meadows. The work is expected to get going this summer.
Sawyer said public works officials go around the city and see which areas have a need for improvement and then decide on what projects to plan on tackling.
About 12-15 years ago, a lot of new development came to Battle Ground, which led to new roads being constructed, Gilberti said. The roads haven’t had much work done since then.
“This is the first line of defense,” Sawyer said, adding that the hope is improving these roads before the damage increases will help them last longer.
However, in Vancouver, Whitcomb said the funds will most likely be used for bigger projects, as benefit districts allow cities to use the money as matching funds with state and federal grants.
Whitcomb said the city is faced with ongoing maintenance of roads, such as filling pot holes and stripping, but the real issues comes with other projects, like paving or transforming a rural road into a more urban one, with sidewalks and more street lights.
“We don’t see this as normal wear-and-tear money,” Whitcomb said of the benefit district funds. “This is for more project-type work. We want to use all of the money in a way that would maximize its benefit to the community.”
Whitcomb said having the match funds could help the city secure more grants for things like pavement preservation. Some money will also be set aside yearly for a neighborhood traffic management program and multimodal safety and accessibility. Whitcomb said the benefit district board will meet in October to discuss specific projects to spend the first round of money on.
Battle Ground also plans on setting some money aside for match funds for bigger projects. Next year, Battle Ground has a two-phase project to improve South Parkway Avenue. The northern half of the road, running from West Main Street to Southeast Rasmussen Boulevard, is expected to cost around $400,000, Sawyer said. About 15 percent of the funds for it, roughly $65,000, will come from the benefit district with the rest coming from Washington State Transportation Improvement Board grants, according to Sawyer.
There are still plenty of details to work out in Woodland, should the transportation benefit board decide to put the sales tax up for a vote. The board will meet 7 p.m. July 5 in council chambers at the Woodland Police Station, 200 E. Scott Ave., Woodland. Board officials will be elected and they will discuss putting the sales tax on the ballot on Nov. 8. To add a flat fee, like Battle Ground and Vancouver, it has to be approved by the benefit district board. To charge a sales tax to raise money for the benefit district, it has to be approved by a public vote.
Woodland City Administrator Peter Boyce said the council voted 6-1 in favor of setting up the benefit district, with Councilor Jennifer Heffernan the lone vote against.
“They need to fund road maintenance and street repair, and many of them felt that’s something the community also wants,” Boyce said, adding that the council felt the district would be a way to help do that.
He said Woodland could raise $243,210 in its first year if the tax is approved. It would go into effect Jan. 1.
