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County engineers warn of large maintenance shortfall, urge lifting property tax cap
Summary
The Washington State Association of County Engineers told the Senate panel counties own most of the state’s road network, face an expanding deferred‑maintenance backlog and want legislative action on preservation funding, flexible federal match and easing the 1% property tax cap.
Axel Swanson, managing director for the Washington State Association of County Engineers and a former county commissioner, told senators that counties own the majority of Washington’s roads and carry a growing maintenance gap.
"We are only allowed to do what you tell us we can do," Swanson said, describing counties as agencies of the state that rely on legislative authority for revenue and responsibilities.
Swanson said counties own roughly 59% of the state’s roadways — about 78,000 lane miles (39,000 centerline miles) — and nearly half of the state’s bridges (44%). He added that four county‑operated ferry systems also exist, underscoring counties’ varied transportation responsibilities.
On funding, Swanson said roughly 55% of county road funding comes from local taxes (primarily property tax), with motor‑vehicle fuel tax as a second major source. He told the committee the property tax cap of 1% growth and the decline or flatlining of fuel‑tax revenue have combined to create a structural funding problem.
Swanson cited an updated county revenue study that shows an annual gap in preservation funding of approximately $800 million to $1.5 billion and an overall deferred maintenance shortfall on the order of $3 billion to $4 billion.
His recommendations to the legislature included increased state support for preservation and maintenance, flexible state match for counties pursuing federal grants, attention to how alternatives to the gas tax (such as a road usage charge) would share revenue with local governments, and legislative consideration to ease the property tax growth limit (the association’s priority is raising the cap toward 3%).
Swanson also referenced the County Road Administration Board and proposed a local access roads grant idea; he urged the committee to consider projects to reduce rural lane‑departure crashes and to expand local revenue tools where appropriate.
Ending: Swanson asked the committee to weigh policy changes that would stabilize local preservation funding and to consider matching and program refinements that help counties use federal opportunities without sacrificing preservation budgets.
