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This chapter considers Kittitas County's funding <br />picture over the next 20 years and provides <br />strategies to support implementation of the <br />recommendations made as part of this <br />Transportation Element. <br />Any funding strategy must balance stated goals <br />against developing sustainable revenue sources that <br />are feasible for the County to implement. This is <br />even more pressing given the limited means <br />counties have at their disposal for raising revenue. <br />Washington's counties are different from cities and <br />special service districts in fundamental ways. These <br />differences are brought into stark relief by <br />considering the interplay of four factors: <br />• Counties face strict limits ontheirtaxing <br />authority. <br />• Counties are heavily reliant on property <br />taxes. <br />Counties face a long list of regional service <br />obligations that are mandated by the state. <br />Counties have a complex set of <br />relationships with multiple constituencies: <br />o They collect regional taxes and <br />provide regional services for all <br />constituents in the county. <br />o They collect local taxes and <br />provide local services to <br />unincorporated areas. <br />Kittitas County has a long list of service obligations <br />with few options for securing new revenue streams. <br />As they look to the future, Kittitas County faces a <br />fundamental, structural challenge—and this larger <br />systemic issue must be considered as part of their <br />long-term transportation funding strategy. <br />7.1 BALANCING FINANCIAL <br />CAPACITY WITH FUTURE FUNDING <br />NEEDS <br />When comparing total available revenues for <br />transportation with expected costs over the 20 -year <br />planning horizon, revenues are sufficient to cover <br />the capital project list but fall short of paying for the <br />current estimated operating costs. <br />Is See Appendix E for a detailed description for how each project was <br />evaluated and scored relative to the transportation goals using a scoring <br />matrix. <br />Operating and state of repair expenditures total an <br />estimated $178.2 million for the 20 -year planning <br />horizon while revenues total $148 million, a gap of <br />$30.2 million. Revenues for capital projects are an <br />estimated $117.1 million, which would be sufficient <br />to complete the $102.6 million in projects on the <br />capital projects list. Detailed revenue and <br />expenditure calculations can be found in Appendix <br />E. <br />Two main strategies can be used to balance this <br />implementation plan: <br />1. Decrease expenses by decreasing level -of - <br />service or further prioritizing capital projects. <br />2. Increase revenue, through increases in existing <br />funding tools or implementation of new funding <br />or financing tools. <br />Funding and financing strategies should fund capital <br />investments that are currently needed, as well as <br />help the County sustainably fund future capital <br />needs. <br />DECREASEEXPENSES <br />Prioritization <br />Project prioritization is needed to help identify when <br />best to fund and implement the projects since <br />funding is limited. Criteria were established to help <br />prioritize the projects and implementation 13 <br />Using these criteria, the recommended projects <br />were evaluated and ranked based on how well each <br />could meet the criteria. High priority projects for <br />Kittitas County are those that meet multiple criteria <br />in terms of effectiveness, benefit to the community, <br />and ability to be implemented. While the current 20 - <br />year project list is not expected to exceed the <br />County's revenue, these prioritization criteria can be <br />used to evaluate future projects. <br />Level of Service maintenance <br />Current operating expenditures incorporate <br />additional costs needed to bring locations failing LOS <br />standards back into compliance. Going forward, <br />541Page <br />