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Shelton shows improved pavement condition; transportation benefit district revenue up since 2016
Summary
Public Works Director Jay Harris presented the 2024 Transportation Benefit District annual report showing higher TBD revenues, a rising pavement condition index and multiple leveraged projects funded with TBD dollars; the council was reminded that renewal of the TBD is on the ballot in November.
Public Works Director Jay Harris presented the Shelton Transportation Benefit District (TBD) 2024 annual report, reporting revenue gains, a higher pavement condition index (PCI) and several completed and planned street projects funded or leveraged with TBD dollars.
Jay Harris told the council the TBD is funded by a 0.2% sales tax voters authorized in 2015 and that the tax raised about $741,000 in 2024, up from early collections in 2016 when the district collected roughly $275,000 in a partial year. "So the revenue's gone up," he said, noting the TBD enabled an improvement in the city's PCI from the mid-60s to the mid-70s.
Harris described the TBD leverage strategy: relatively small TBD contributions can be combined with state or other grants to fund larger collector and arterial projects. He cited Olympic Highway North as an example where a small TBD amount helped unlock roughly $3.8 million in combined grant funding.
Projects Harris identified as funded or supported by TBD dollars include the Downtown Connector, Brockdale paving, Western Gateway improvements, Civic Center parking lot work, Capitol Hill paving, Safe Routes to School crossings and the planned Olympic Highway North restoration. He said the city has set aside more than $2 million toward a long-term maintenance yard replacement estimated at about $6 million, aiming to avoid borrowing.
Harris also described routine maintenance activities supported in part by TBD funds—street sweeping, pothole patching, signal maintenance, striping and snow removal in heavy years—and said a TBD renewal will appear on the November ballot as a straight renewal (not an increase).
Council members asked how changes in the TBD rate would translate to revenue. Harris said a 0.1% increase would be "very close to" an additional $370,000 in annual revenue. He said with the current funding the city's PCI would likely hold around the mid-70s and that without new revenue the city would probably not reach the 80s.
