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Boulder council adopts transportation maintenance fee after debate over outreach and timing
Summary
After hours of debate over outreach, equity and budget timing, the Boulder City Council adopted Ordinance 8719 to establish a Transportation Maintenance Fee, voting 6–3 to approve the fee after rejecting a motion to postpone it to early 2026.
The Boulder City Council on Oct. 23 adopted Ordinance 8719 to create a Transportation Maintenance Fee intended to fund pavement, bridge and sidewalk repairs and related safety work.
Council Member Matt Benjamin moved to postpone the ordinance to the first or second quarter of 2026 to allow more outreach to businesses and residents; that motion failed in a 4–5 roll-call vote. A separate motion to adopt the ordinance then passed by roll call, 6–3.
Why it mattered: City staff have programmed $2.25 million in fee revenue into the 2026 budget. Transportation staff told council the fee would generate about $6.4 million in a full year, with roughly two‑thirds going to pavement maintenance — a set of investments staff said are needed to prevent the city’s pavement condition from declining.
City Manager Nuria Rivera Vandermyde told the council that postponing adoption would delay creation of the program and the associated maintenance work. "If this were to be postponed...we would not be creating the program," she said, noting that schedule and budget items would need to be adjusted.
Transportation Principal Project Manager Chris Hagland described the tradeoffs staff had heard in community engagement: “A lot of people who are supportive of this fee... understand that the maintenance of our capital transportation infrastructure is critical,” he said, while some objected to a new fee as a funding mechanism.
Deputy Director Valerie Watson gave a snapshot of pavement condition and need: “We’re currently at a pavement quality index of about 74,” she said, and added staff estimates that fully funding pavement management would require roughly $8 million per year so the city can maintain present pavement quality.
Council members who voted yes were Council Member Ryan Shuhard, Council Member Spear, Council Member Matt Benjamin, Mayor Brockett, Mayor Pro Tem Folkertz and Council Member Tina Marquis. Council Members Wallach, Weiner and Adams voted no.
What’s next: Staff will proceed with the implementation planning and outreach that the ordinance enables, including engagement with businesses on collection mechanisms and exemptions; if feedback requires changes that implicate the nexus study, staff said such changes could require additional analysis and potential ordinance amendments.
