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Shelton staff urge renewal of 0.2% street sales tax; council asks staff to draft resolution for ballot
Summary
Council received an update on the street fund, transportation-benefit-district (TBD) sales tax and related ballot timing. Staff recommended renewing the 0.2% TBD tax (a replacement, not an increase) and will prepare a draft resolution; council members favored a November ballot if possible.
City staff told the City Council the Street Fund is projecting revenues of about $2.2 million against expenses near $2.4 million in 2025 and urged council consideration of renewing a transportation benefit district (TBD) sales tax set to expire in April 2026.
Staff described the TBD revenue as a dedicated sales‑tax stream that primarily funds street maintenance and capital projects such as chip seals, in‑house paving, sidewalk replacements, downtown street repairs, signage improvements and thermal‑plastic crosswalk markings. The presentation noted a fund‑balance reservation requirement of 16 percent and showed staff planned capital work for 2025 tied to grant matches leveraged with the local TBD funds.
Nut graf: With the TBD set to expire and the street fund operating near a structural deficit in 2025, staff urged renewing the existing 0.2 percent sales tax and asked council to authorize staff to bring a resolution to a future council meeting so the measure could appear on an upcoming ballot if council so chooses.
Staff outlined options and timing. The existing TBD is 0.2 percent (two‑tenths of one percent) and would require council resolution to appear on a ballot; staff said the measure could appear on the August or November ballot but highlighted tight deadlines for an August placement (resolution to county auditor by early May). Staff also presented the option of raising the TBD to 0.3 percent, estimating roughly $310,000 in additional annual revenue if voters approved an increase.
Council members discussed alternate revenue options. Staff said a $20 vehicle-license fee, adopted locally, could raise roughly $100,000 annually assuming about 5,000 registered vehicles in the city limits; the speaker noted statutory timing and that the fee must be in place for 24 months before it may be increased under state law. A staff member also noted state fuel‑tax proposals have not provided inflation indexing for city and county shares, increasing local concern about future road revenue.
Council direction: members asked staff to prepare a draft resolution and return it for council consideration; several members expressed a preference to place a renewal on the November ballot rather than August so it would not run against other measures. One council member said the council should "run it alone" to avoid conflating the TBD measure with other potential ballot items.
Ending: Staff said they will continue preparing materials, publish the city’s 2025 paving plan, and provide a draft resolution and timeline for council action; staff also noted the council can revisit the TBD rate and timing in subsequent meetings.
