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Transportation staff outlines department structure, funding and major projects to TAB
Summary
Interim Director Valerie Watson and staff briefed TAB on the Transportation and Mobility Department’s organization, staffing, revenue sources, budget breakdown and priority projects including core arterial work, Vision Zero and airport maintenance; Finance staff signaled discussion of a potential transportation maintenance fee.
Valerie Watson, the City of Boulder’s interim director of Transportation and Mobility, gave Transportation Advisory Board members an overview of the department’s organization, budget and current projects during a board orientation meeting. "We have about 98 full time employees, full time equivalents, right now, staff people. But we have about 30 vacant positions," Watson said.
Why it matters: staffing levels, funding sources and capital priorities guide what the department can deliver. TAB advises staff and City Council on transportation programs and will review future proposals shaped by these constraints.
Watson ran through the department’s divisions and leaders: capital projects, operations (signals, signage, street lights), planning, transit and business services. Staff noted a hiring freeze and that many vacancies are in maintenance and operations. The department shares a business services division with Utilities and has communications and GIS support functions assigned to transportation programs.
On funding, staff described a mix of local sales tax and external grants. Watson said the city has a dedicated local sales‑tax component that funded transportation historically and referenced a 0.6 percent sales tax approved in 1967 that funds transportation work; staff also noted a 0.15 percent sales tax that expired in 2019 and a separate 0.15 percent that was redirected in 2020 through 2029. "For every $10 that are spent in Boulder, 7 and a half cents is going towards transportation," Watson said to give scale to local revenue.
Staff presented a typical annual budget breakdown: roughly half the department’s annual budget flows to capital (reported at about 53%). Program areas include capital improvements, planning, operations and maintenance; staff said capital projects, vision zero safety work and maintenance are high priorities when allocating limited funds.
Key projects highlighted for TAB included the city’s major corridors work (the “CAN” projects), Vision Zero implementation and the city’s Safe Streets and Roads for All grant work, streetlight upgrades and LED conversion, airport safety and operations and an upcoming on‑ and off‑street parking study that includes a TDM (transportation demand management) ordinance. Finance staff member Karen Steiner told TAB the long‑term financial strategy team will present options to Council later this year, including a potential transportation maintenance fee. "We are going to be talking with counsel and Chris Hagelin... about a transportation maintenance fee," Steiner said.
Staff also encouraged TAB members to follow the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan update and the citywide long‑term financial engagement (“Fund Our Future”) because those processes will shape department strategy and future budgets.
The session was informational; TAB did not adopt policy or change the department work plan during the meeting. Members were asked to direct inquiries through the department director and to bring substantive agenda items to the chair in advance so staff can prepare and the full board can consider them at a public meeting.
