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Study session: county staff lay out transportation funding shortfall, present options including sales tax and dedicated CIP allocations
Summary
County finance and public‑works staff outlined a long list of deferred roadway needs, estimated a five‑year backlog in the low hundreds of millions, and discussed funding options such as shifting specific ownership tax, adjusting mill levies, or using sales tax to support road maintenance and capital work.
Arapahoe County finance and public‑works staff told commissioners that the county’s road and bridge and infrastructure funds are underfunded relative to needed maintenance and capital work. Staff described the current funding structure and presented options for dedicating new revenue from the county’s debruced property tax increase (the ballot measure commonly called 1A), transfers of specific ownership tax, sales tax alternatives, and restructuring vehicle/equipment replacement funding to free road funding.
Presenters said the county has kept the road and bridge mill levy structured to hold revenue relatively flat in some recent years (offsetting growth by cutting the levy), and that staff has used specific ownership tax (vehicle registration receipts) and modest mineral‑related distributions to supplement Road & Bridge. Staff presented a condition assessment showing roughly 40% of the county’s road lane‑miles rated in “poor/very poor” condition and an estimated backlog of pavement and infrastructure needing many tens of millions annually to close the gap. One five‑year approach to eliminate the backlog would require an additional roughly $23–25 million per year for five years (a multi‑year program), on top of steady maintenance funding.
Options discussed included: reallocating a portion of 1A proceeds into Road & Bridge (with the caveat that the statutory share‑back mechanism means roughly half of any levy‑based allocation would flow to municipalities), switching more specific ownership tax to Road & Bridge (specific ownership tax is not subject to the same share‑back statutory rule), authorizing a local sales‑tax mechanism (other Front Range counties use voter‑approved transportation sales taxes), or changing how fleet/equipment replacement is budgeted so equipment replacement costs do not compete with maintenance funding.
Staff emphasized tradeoffs: reallocating property tax to roads reduces county general‑purpose funds available for other services; sales taxes would require voter approval but could raise substantial recurring revenue; reallocating specific owner tax could provide immediate additions to Road & Bridge without municipal share‑back; and shifting fleet replacement to the general fund would free Road & Bridge dollars but reduce general‑fund flexibility.
Ending: Staff will continue modeling and return with recommendations and pros/cons for how to allocate 1A proceeds and other revenue sources to narrow the funding gap.
