2018-10-08-minutes-public-works-study-session

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expenditures will maintain existing levels of service, which may not be as capital intensive. FUTURE FUNDING STRATEGIES The following is a list of options for balancing future funding needs: • Increase Revenues through Existing Funding Tools: o County Admissions Tax o County Roads Levy (Property Taxes) o General Fund Appropriations o Sale of Existing Capital Assets o Real Estate Excise Tax 1 • Increase Revenues through New Funding Tools: o. $20 Vehicle Licensing Fee levied via a Transportation Benefit District 0 0.2% Sales and Use Tax levied via a Transportation Benefit District o Levy Lid Lift o Transportation Impact Fees o Road Improvement District (RID) o Local Option Fuel Tax o Real Estate Excise Tax 2 • Increase Revenues through New Financing Tools: o Limited Tax General Obligation (LTGO) Bonds o Unlimited Tax General Obligation (UTGO) Bond Table 12 summarizes the potential revenue that can be generated by these tools, explained in detail below. FUNDING TOOLS To following are potential options to address the $30.2 million funding gap in operating revenues over the 20 -year planning period. Each of these options has its own challenges, and there is no easy solution to balancing revenues and needs. Transportation Benefit District— Vehicle Licensing Fee (Non -Voted) Independent taxing districts created through ordinance can impose a vehicle fee on vehicles under 6,000 pounds, without voter approval, of up to $20. If a $20 fee has been in effect for at least 24 months, then a vehicle fee up to $40 can be imposed; if a $40 fee has been effect for at least 24 months, then a $50 vehicle fee can be imposed. Vehicle license fees can be as much as $100 with voter approval. Two ordinances are required to establish a Vehicle Licensing Fee, first a Transportation Benefit District (TBD) and then a Vehicle Licensing Lee itself. Currently, over 100 cities have established TBDs; the City of Kittitas is a Transportation Benefit District with a $20 Vehicle Licensing Fee. Kittitas County could potentially set a fee aligned with the City of Kittitas. Five counties have established a TBD: King, Pierce, Points Roberts (formed by Whatcom County), Snohomish, and Thurston County. According to Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL) data, there are 27,549 vehicles registered in unincorporated Kittitas County. The DOL collects 1% of revenue generated from a Vehicle Licensing Fee. The fee can be collected six months after it is approved, and the County must notify DOL once the fee has been approved so that the fee can be included in vehicle renewal notices. Assuming a constant rate of registered vehicles to population, and projecting forward using population estimates, a $20 Vehicle Licensing Fee would bring in estimated annual additional revenues of $545,470 (after deducting 1% for DOL). This could be a phased approach, where the County implements a $20 fee for two years, then a $40 for two years, then a $50 fee for the remaining period. This could bring an estimated additional $557,054 during the first year and $31.6 million over the 20 -year period. This is sufficient to cover the $30.2 million operating deficit. Transportation Benefit District — Sales and Use Tax (Voted) Independent taxing districts created through ordinance can impose an additional sales and use tax of up to 0.2%. This would apply to unincorporated areas and could be aligned to sales and use taxes in cities. Currently, the City of Ellensburg is a TBD with a 0.2% sales tax. The tax must be reauthorized by voters after ten years. A Sales and Use Tax levied through a TBD could bring in approximately $718,636 annually, based on Unincorporated Kittitas County's 2016 taxable retail sales data from Washington State's Department of 551Page