2022-02-28-minutes-public-works-study-session

Home Browse Search

Our current reality is insufficient financial capability maintaining current service levels of PW assets. PW is providing the Board of County Commissioners, and ultimately County rate payers, with two primary choices: maintain current service levels or reduce current assets. Reducing current assets allows the current Road Fund levy to minimally increase (at allowable levels in state law) over the next ten years without voting an increase. PW proposes divesting in local roadway maintenance as the means of generation necessary capital supporting primary transportation network needs. The proposed reduction in local roadway service level allows PW to maintain the primary road and bridge network until 2031. In the absence of supplemental revenue by 2031, it may become necessary to further divest of PW infrastructure assets. It is not reasonable to presume PW can continue to maintain existing service levels with current inflation demand at 6.4 percent annually with a one percent annual increase in Road Levy rate. Difficult decisions are pending for rate payers. A crushing urbanization rate is accelerating decline of PW infrastructure (increase usage) while revenue streams are fixed or in decline. It is easy for rate payers to look at PW financial performance these past seven years and ask "what's the problem"? The truth is that PW has been fortunate securing nearly $30 million in supplemental revenue in the past seven years — a performance that is not likely to continue. Key senior members of the management are slated to retire in the next two years. Less experienced staff will likely not have the experience in grant writing necessary to match the program's experience these past seven years resulting in reduced grant funding. Kittitas County is currently the 9th lowest Road Levy rate in the state. PW management successfully implemented "banked capacity' in the fund the past couple of years in an attempt to delay the pending decision being faced by rate payers. Our financial reserves supporting capital construction will run out in 2024. Only Chelan County operates with a lower Road Fund levy than all of our neighbors (EXHIBIT 2). Without the requested increase, PW will not keep up with expanding population and associated wear and tear on County roads and bridges. Lack of PW infrastructure investment since 2000 results in severe deferred maintenance demand on all assets. In 2021, PW completed construction of a new Upper County Maintenance facility replacing the World War II era facility. A similar problem exists with the Lower County Maintenance Facility. Rate Payers have not been asked to adequately fund their PW infrastructure until now. A lack of experienced professional PW management structure has allowed deferred maintenance to become systemic across the entire road and bridge network. While the thought of allowing local paved roads to return to gravel seems harsh, the reality is that in addition to the 24 load rated bridges since 2015 (EXHIBIT 3), we are facing numerous additional load ratings in the coming years. Some bridges will be closed forcing farm to market impacts in lower County. We continue being a community proud of our low taxation rates. PW has done its best mitigating fixed revenues with increasing wear and tear on PW infrastructure owing to unpresented population increase since the mid 90s. The time is coming for rate payers to define how their standard of living will suffer in the absence of investing in existing PW assets. PW is requesting that a Road Fund Levy increase of $0.15/$1,000 of assessed value be put to vote in fall of 2022. Supporting this election, PW is suggesting a public outreach campaign begin summer of 2022. It is important to get this issue before voters ahead of Page 2 of 6 Public Works "Work Session Staff Report", 2022