Competing funding measures are vying for space on the November ballot in Bothell, pitting fire funding against capital improvements and road maintenance.
For nearly two decades city street maintenance and capital improvements have been starved of revenue following the state Supreme Court’s decision to eliminate streetlight fees, a pair of Tim Eyman initiatives in 1999 and reduced property tax during the recession, according to documents provided at a May 10 Bothell City Council study session.
Capital improvements for sidewalks and crosswalks also require funding to execute improvements.
The city’s fire department also took a hit during the recession and forced it to dip into some $1.2 million in reserve funding to internalize equipment replacement and maintenance.
These issues constitute four separate measures, but following resident input, the City Council directed staff to consolidate limited capital improvements and funding for the city streets department into one ballot measure for voters.
The city’s street operations department has a current annual budget of $1.4 million, funded through the motor vehicle fuel tax and business license fees. Of that budget, some $1.1 million go towards fixed costs.
For two years, this has been supplemented by a two-year revenue injection stemming from a February 2014 annexation and which will be depleted for the 2017-2018 budget.
City staff recommended a ballot measure proposing a 25 cent property tax levy for every $1,000 worth of value, or around $94 annually for a $376,000 home. This would bring the 2017 budget up to around $2.6 million and support current services and be approved for a nine-year term.
The department consists of eight full-time employees who provide maintenance for city roads, bridges, sidewalks and transportation infrastructure.
If a funding levy is not passed in November, the city will have to lay off all eight employees, essentially eliminating city street maintenance.
Pothole, asphalt and tree trimming would be eliminated, as would sidewalk repair, traffic light maintenance, mowing and right of way trimming. Event support and after-hours emergency calls responses would also cease.
If the levy is not passed the council could also enact a $20 fee on licenses, which would result in some $650,000 annually for the street fund, bringing the budget up to $2,050,000 and result in only three street staff being laid off. Limited repair and maintenance would also be funded.
A streets, sidewalks and crosswalks measure to create a nine-year transportation benefit district and use tax, costing the average resident around $50 annually.
This money would go towards infrastructure maintenance and improvements, which staff would be much less costly to repair now than in the future when they may have to be replaced.
