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KITTITAS COUNTY <br />DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS <br />PUBLIC WORKS — BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS <br />STUDY SESSION STAFF REPORT <br />STUDY SESSION DATE: February 28, 2022 <br />TOPIC: Ten -Year Transportation Asset Management Plan <br />ACTION REQUESTED: Direct Staff <br />LEAD STAFF: <br />Mark R. Cook <br />RECOMMENDATION: <br />Direct staff prepare a public outreach campaign for 2022. <br />BRIEFING SUMMARY: <br />• Road Fund cash reserves will meet programmed expenses until 2024 <br />• Public Works (PW) recently competed a ten-year asset management plan <br />• Meeting programmed system improvements (next ten years) will require a Road <br />Levy lift of $0.15/$1,000 of assessed value beyond 2024 <br />• Public Works (PW) desires placing the proposed Road Levy lift on the 2022 fall <br />election <br />• PW believes a public outreach campaign is needed ahead of the election <br />BACKGROUND: <br />The 2018 twenty-year Transportation Plan evaluated PW financing needs for the first <br />time in PW's operating history. Rough costing analysis supporting the twenty-year <br />planning effort identified a necessary Road Levy lift of $0.98/$1,000 of assessed value. <br />At the time, the Road Levy was $0.99/$1,000 of assessed value. This equates to a near <br />doubling of the levy rate. State law caps Road Levy rates in the state at $2.25/$1,000. <br />Currently, Kittitas County Road Levy is set at $1.108 per $1,000 of assessed value. The <br />recently completed ten-year Transportation Asset Management Plan (EXHIBIT 1) <br />identifies a necessary Road Fund Levy increase of $0.15/$1,000 of assessed value <br />meeting financial demands through 2031. <br />DISCUSSION: <br />During 2021, staff gathered extensive cost data on PW infrastructure (roads, bridges, <br />buildings, equipment, and personnel). A similar effort was focused on revenue streams. <br />Engineering, planning, finance and maintenance all participated in the effort. Significant <br />effort was expended identifying critical PW asset needs for the next ten years (2031). <br />Unknowns such as motor vehicle fuel tax, along with the uncertainty of federal and state <br />funding grants, drove staffs consideration of the inability maintaining the current asset <br />inventory without significant supplemental revenue. <br />Page 1 of 6 <br />Public Works "Work Session Staff Report", 2022 <br />