Washington County staff presented a status update Dec. 15 on two concurrent projects studying resilient transportation funding options and broader general revenue sources.

Steven and Jessica described the project timeline: a funding options glossary and evaluation metrics were developed earlier in the effort; options were screened for feasibility and functionality; the team then advanced the highest‑scoring (green) options to an implementation viability analysis. Jessica said the analysis assesses implementation steps, administrative burden, statutory limitations and whether a public vote would be required.

Jessica gave illustrative revenue figures from the packet: a 1¢ per gallon gas tax increase would raise an estimated $770,000 annually in total revenue, with the county’s net increase estimated at about 40% of that amount. A $5 increase in a vehicle registration fee was modeled to raise roughly $1.6 million, with an estimated county share of about 60% after revenue sharing with cities. Jessica said these figures are examples to show scale and that options can be scaled (for example, 1¢ vs. 5¢ gas tax) and that full modeling and statutory checks remain in progress.

When asked about tolls, Jessica said the option moved to the red category in the evaluation: “It moved to the red after looking at the analysis ... it's really not a realistic one from administrative burden and political standpoints at this time.”

Committee members raised political and timing concerns. Mayor Dunbro (North Plains) asked how the county will message options to voters in light of recent state‑level referenda and potential ballot fatigue; county staff said political considerations are being tracked and that the board will apply that filter when recommending strategies. Members also flagged property tax 'compression' effects (Measure 50) that can reduce local levy yields and urged the county to model property‑by‑property impacts before recommending levies.

Jessica said the team will prioritize short‑term, higher‑certainty funding options and bring strategy recommendations back to the county board on Jan. 27, with mid‑ and long‑term options to be refined in the spring. No formal action was taken by the WCCC at the meeting.