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Boulder launches study of transportation maintenance fee to create stable revenue for road and asset upkeep
Summary
City staff told TAB they are conducting a transportation maintenance‑fee study to establish a legal nexus, estimate costs and evaluate allocation methods; staff aim to have results available for the 2026 budget process. The mechanism is a fee (not a tax) that other Colorado cities have used to fund pavement and infrastructure maintenance.
City staff told the Transportation Advisory Board on May 12 that the city is conducting a transportation maintenance‑fee study to evaluate whether a new, dedicated fee is an appropriate tool to generate predictable revenue for transportation maintenance.
Study purpose and legal background Chris Hagelin, principal project manager in Transportation & Mobility, said the fee study is intended to establish the legal and rational nexus required for a new user fee: who pays, how much they pay and what benefit they receive. Staff described the mechanism as a maintenance fee (sometimes called a transportation utility fee), not a tax, and cited Colorado precedent: fee programs limited to maintenance have been tested in Colorado courts and cities such as Loveland and Fort Collins have enacted similar mechanisms.
Why staff are considering a fee Staff emphasized the department’s heavy reliance on sales and use tax, which can fluctuate with the economy. Chris Hagelin and Steven Rijo, transportation planning manager, told TAB a fee would provide a predictable, dedicated revenue stream that could be indexed to construction‑cost inflation and used specifically for asset maintenance (pavement, markings, bridges, lighting, and other long‑term upkeep). By covering maintenance needs with fee revenue, staff said other city funding could be freed for enhancements and multimodal projects.
How the study will work and timeline Staff described study tasks: compiling parcel and land‑use data, estimating maintenance‑cost recovery needs, evaluating allocation bases (for example, vehicle trip generation and/or frontage), calculating administrative costs to run a fee program, and testing the legal nexus. Chris Hagelin said staff aim to complete the study in time to consider a fee within the 2026 budget process that begins in June.
Questions from TAB Board members asked whether a fee might be replaced by or should be presented as a tax; staff said the fee has a different legal and administrative structure and that council could choose to adopt a fee administratively or pursue a ballot measure for broader revenue questions. Staff also acknowledged any new fee would cover a portion, not all, of the department’s unfunded maintenance needs and is only one tool in a broader long‑term financial strategy including grant pursuit and possible tax measures.
Ending Staff recommended continued stakeholder outreach and a fee‑study presentation to council as part of the broader long‑term financial strategy; the study remains in progress, with staff signaling a near‑term timeline for results to inform the 2026 budget process.
