Public Infrastructure Subcommittee asks council to put 5% property‑tax paving amendment on charter ballot

The Public Infrastructure Subcommittee voted to ask the City Council to place a charter revision amendment on the next charter election ballot to designate 5% of all property taxes collected for street paving, the committee decided during its meeting.

The request, made by the subcommittee chair, sought a charter amendment directing that 5% of property tax revenue be used for street paving. “...ask the city council to place a charter revision, amendment at the next charter election ballot for the, the collection of 5% of all property taxes collected to be designated for street payment,” the chair said when moving the item for the record.

Why it matters: a charter amendment would change how a portion of city property tax revenue is allocated, creating a dedicated funding stream for pavement work rather than relying on annual budget appropriations or bond packages.

The subcommittee also discussed a separate motion that had proposed a $30,000,000 bond for paving earlier in the process; the chair reported that the group “did not unanimously approve that $30,000,000,” and the subcommittee declined to include that bond amount in its recommendations.

The motion to request the charter amendment passed on a recorded voice count. Committee members present counted to 13 in favor; no opposition was recorded at the time of the vote. The subcommittee’s recommendation will be delivered to the main committee and forwarded to the City Council for consideration of placement on the ballot.

Next steps: the subcommittee’s request will appear in the packet that staff sends to City Council and will be considered along with the main committee’s final recommendations and administrative materials before council decides what to place on a special election ballot.