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Gilbert faces growing long‑term streets maintenance gap; staff proposes state, local and bond options
Summary
Staff told council long‑term street maintenance needs are outpacing Highway User and vehicle‑license revenues; options include a statewide revision to the HURF formula, local bonds for capital work, and use of Prop 4‑79 funds for certain projects.
Public‑works staff warned the council that long‑term pavement maintenance needs are growing faster than the town’s available Highway User Revenue Funds (HURF) and vehicle license tax (VLT) revenues. Jessica and Yao summarized the town’s long‑range infrastructure planning process (LRIP), noting a current target pavement condition index (PCI) of roughly 72 and a projected per‑square‑yard annual maintenance cost that rose from under $1.00 to about $1.72 since 2020, largely because of material and labor cost escalation.
Yao highlighted that Gilbert manages about 946 centerline miles of pavement (nearly 647 square miles of traveled surface area equivalent in total) and that certain neighborhoods — cited as an example — require full reconstruction if preventative maintenance was deferred too long, with one subdivision reconstruction estimated at roughly $80 million including utility relocations. The town’s current HURF/VLT funding (about $33.34M cited as combined funding for streets activities) will not fully cover projected preservation needs; staff showed a multi‑year projection where maintenance demand outpaces available revenue beginning in the mid‑2020s.
Staff presented three paths for council consideration: (1) a statewide effort to revise the HURF formula and related allocations (a long, multi‑jurisdiction effort); (2) a town‑level bond (secondary property tax) to pay for large reconstruction projects (useful for one‑time capital but not ongoing maintenance); and (3) maximizing Prop 4‑79 regional funds where eligible and exploring whether arterial or project‑level funding can offset some costs. Council asked staff to further analyze options, including modeling which projects could be funded by Prop 4‑79 versus bond proceeds, and to return with proposals in the fall.
Why it matters: Streets are the town’s single largest asset; failure to fund lifecycle maintenance will increase reconstruction costs and degrade surface conditions. Staff asked council for direction on whether to pursue legislative changes, local bonding, or other funding strategies.
