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Planning commission staff flag roughly $580 million transportation funding shortfall in plan update
Summary
County staff told the Planning Commission that the transportation capital facilities plan lists roughly $1.6 billion in projects over 20 years and shows a preliminary shortfall of about $580 million; staff outlined options including a 1% road-levy increase, a county gas‑tax, and transportation benefit districts and said numbers will be refined before the hearing.
Harrison Houston, a transportation planner with Community Planning, told the Clark County Planning Commission at its July 16 work session that the draft transportation capital facilities plan (Appendix A) lists about $1.6 billion in 20‑year project needs and that preliminary revenue projections show a funding gap of roughly $580,000,000.
"We're anticipating about a $580,000,000 shortfall, which represents about 36% of the total projected capital costs," Houston said, adding that the figures are preliminary and will be updated before the public hearing.
Why it matters: under the Growth Management Act, jurisdictions must compare probable funding with identified transportation needs and discuss options for addressing a shortfall. A gap of this size would require the county and its cities to consider new or expanded revenue tools, reprioritization of projects, or larger grant and private‑share commitments.
Staff walked commissioners through revenue‑side options the plan will analyze: an annual county road levy (the staff example discussed a 1% annual option that staff estimated could yield roughly $400,000 per year), a countywide local option gas tax (state law allows a local share of the state rate; voter approval and revenue sharing with jurisdictions would be required), and transportation benefit districts that local jurisdictions often use to raise operating or capital funds. Houston also said staff currently model that roughly 25% of CFP costs could be recovered from grants and about 30% from impact fees, but both assumptions will be refined.
Commissioners pressed staff on what is driving the shortfall. Houston and other staff pointed to higher construction costs and inflation, new state requirements (including multimodal and safety projects under HB 1181, adopted in 2023), and the inclusion of active‑transportation, safety and other projects that were not previously in earlier plans. Staff described the CFP project list as partially aspirational—the 20‑year list need not be fully financially constrained—and said priorities will be examined alongside the six‑year TIP and in coordination with public works and council direction.
What comes next: staff said they will refine project cost estimates, inflation assumptions and revenue projections before the hearing and will return with clearer annual gap figures and prioritization information. The presentation also noted staff presented these preliminary findings to the county council the previous day.
No formal actions or votes were taken at the work session; staff requested time to provide the refined numbers for the upcoming hearing.
