Everett To Take A Closer Look At Street Improvement Funds

Wednesday night the Everett City Council received a briefing on the first budget amendment of the year. The city is carrying forward millions of dollars that were unspent in 2017. Among the carryovers is a little more than half a million dollars from a share of the motor vehicle fuel tax from Washington State as well as money from the city’s general fund allocated for street improvement projects. That is on top of the money brought in by the city’s twenty dollar fee on vehicle license tabs.

In 2014 the city formed a Transportation Benefit District in order to collect a $20.00 fee on vehicle license tabs. The money was earmarked for road projects and was expected to amount to about $1.2 million dollars a year. According to the summary statement in the proposed ordinance at the time. “Revenues generated by the TBD will be used for transportation improvements that preserve, maintain and operate the existing transportation infrastructure of the city and any other transportation improvements that are consistent with existing state, regional and local transportation plans.” The City of Everett has been collecting that money since 2015.

Everett City Council members now want to look at why general fund money is being added to the road fund and then not spent but carried over year to year. Dollars from the general fund could be re-allocated to other city services, especially in light of the projected long-term budget deficits the city is facing or the city could look at reducing the car tab fees since the money isn’t being spent as budgeted.

City administration promised the council a briefing on the allocation of the road funds at a future meeting.