Centralia council approves placing transportation-benefit tax renewal on November ballot

The Centralia City Council on Tuesday voted 7-0 to place a measure on the November 2025 ballot asking voters to renew the citys Transportation Benefit District (TBD) 0.02% sales tax for another 10 years.

City staff said the tax is not new but would continue an existing local sales-and-use levy used to pay routine maintenance and to provide local matching funds that help the city secure state and federal grants. "Of those monies collected from 2016 to 2024, 60% of that fund goes to maintenance projects ... 40% of that fund goes into leverage other dollars," Ashmore said during the councils presentation.

Why it matters: Council and staff emphasized that the TBD has been used both for everyday road upkeepblade patching, chip seals and pavingand to leverage outside funding for larger multimillion-dollar projects. Staff cited a return on investment figure showing $1.3 million in TBD matching funds helped secure roughly $6.9 million in external grants between 2016 and 2024. Examples discussed during the meeting included the federally funded First Street paving project and the multiagency Westside Connector work.

What the ballot measure would do: If approved by voters in November, the 0.02% sales tax would continue to permit the city to match grant offers and fund maintenance. Staff noted the measure must be placed on the ballot by an August deadline so it can appear on the November ballot; the council directed staff to work with Lewis County to do so.

Public comment and next steps: No members of the public signed up to speak on the measure at the council meeting. Council members said they plan to communicate to voters how TBD funds are spent and noted the tax is a sales-and-use tax, not a property tax. Staff said outreach will explain that TBD funds both reduce potholes and enable matching dollars for larger projects.

Budget and examples: During the presentation staff cited sample project numbers: the First Street paving award included about $800,000 in federal funding with a local match of approximately $127,000, and staff summarized cumulative leverage as about $5.25 returned for every dollar invested in matching funds over the last funding cycle. Councilors said those leverage ratios make the measure an attractive investment for voters.

Council vote and procedural note: The council voted to adopt Resolution 28-26 directing staff to place the TBD renewal on the November 2025 ballot. The measure is now scheduled for placement pending Lewis County coordination and the August statutory filing deadlines.