Seeking the financial means to deal with deteriorating streets, members of the Enumclaw City Council – assembling in their dual role as the city’s Transportation Benefit District – have decreed that vehicle owners will pay an additional $20 when renewing their license tabs.
The new fee – which will be instituted after winding its way through the state’s Department of Licensing – was passed Feb. 10 by a 4-2 vote. Supporting the move were TBD chairman Jim Hogan, Darrel Dickson, Hoke Overland and Juanita Carstens. Opposing the idea were Mike Sando and Chance LaFleur.
Nearly a year ago, the City Council formed the Transportation Benefit District, just as many cities and towns have done. Creating a TBD gives municipalities the ability to raise money, solely for the purpose of maintaining existing streets. New revenue created through a TBD is not for things like new roadways or sidewalks.
Acting as a Transportation Benefit District, members can generate money by imposing license fees or increasing the local sales tax rate.
Enumclaw officials were acting in the shadow of the King County Council, with earlier in the day had created a countywide Transportation Benefit District. In Seattle, authorities see the TBD as a way to pump needed dollars into mass transit, while also sharing money with communities throughout the county.
Much of the Enumclaw discussion centered upon what the county might do, the dollars that could be generated and the limitations that could result from actions taken in Seattle.
If King County officials were to impose a countywide Transportation Benefit District, for example, Enumclaw could not have done the same – not without a vote of the public. That was one factor prompting Enumclaw officials to take action last week.
Additionally, it’s anticipated that King County’s TBD will put a bond issue before county voters as early as April.
If the countywide TBD package is proposed and approved, Enumclaw vehicle owners will pay twice – an additional $20 annually for their license tabs, plus a sales tax hike stemming from the countywide vote.
The benefit is city roads would have two new funding sources. It’s anticipated the local license fee will generate perhaps $210,000 annually, while the countywide TBD proposal – if passed – would see about $290,000 coming Enumclaw’s way each year. That would just about meet Enumclaw’s demand, according to City Administrator Chris Searcy. A study of the city street system, conducted a few years ago, recommended that approximately $500,000 would be needed each year to keep city streets at an acceptable level.
LaFleur opposed the creation of a license tab fee because, alone, it doesn’t go far enough to help the city’s aging streets. If the city begins collecting the $20 fee and the county bond measure fails, he said, “we’re left with $210,000 for a $550,000 problem.”
Hogan admitted he’s not a great fan of adding the $20 license fee, but supported the move as a preemptive strike against King County. If the county TBD were to impose a similar fee, he noted, Enumclaw motorists would pay an additional $20 per year, but less than half would be returned to the city; the rest would be absorbed into countywide collections.
Enumclaw Mayor Liz Reynolds is not part of the Transportation Benefit District, but appreciates the work done and the decision reached.
Making a decision that hits residents in the pocketbook is never easy, she noted, while agreeing something had to be done.
“I applaud the City Council for taking the first step toward fixing our city streets,” Reynolds said. “It was a tough decision…but our citizens deserve good streets.”
