The Ocean Shores City Council has narrowly approved forming a Transportation Benefit District to fund road and street maintenance, but the district was limited by an amendent that restricts potential funding to a local sales tax increase — but only after it is approved by voters.
Proposed by Councilman John Lynn, the Transportation Benefit District (TBD) is a tool for local governments that authorizes the legislative authority to raise funds for the “purposes of acquiring, constructing, improving, providing and funding transportation improvements.”
“A Transportation Benefit District is a device to be used to raise money for street projects,” Lynn said.
The council voted 4-3 on Feb. 27 to enact the TBD, but agreed to an amendment proposed by Jon Martin to eliminate other funding options that did not require a public vote, such as the imposition of license tab fees or the formation of a Local Improvement District.
During a previously held public hearing, most citizens favored the TBD only if the City Council limited its taxing authority to a local 0.2 percent sales and use tax increase, which would have to be approved by voters.
During the third reading of the proposal, resident Susan Conniry and Councilwoman Holly Plackett each urged the council to again take no action.
“I have spoken about this consistently, and I still oppose forming a Transportation Benefit District and adding another taxing mechanism for our residents,” Plackett said.
If it is adopted, Plackett said she wanted it “put in very definite terms that it is going to be applied to street maintenance and street repair” and no other issues.
“The way it’s written now, it can be used for anything,” Plackett said, also requesting a 10-year sunset clause on the proposal.
“The citizens of Ocean Shores would like you to have a project list and some estimated costs before you decide to have a Transportation Benefit District,” Conniry said, urging the council to provide better detail about what the needs and priorities would be.
“But if you don’t, please amend this Transportation Benefit District to only allow the sales tax portion of it so that it goes to the voters and they can decide,” Conniry said.
Resident Richard Wills also supported the TBD, and noted there was a plan put together in 2013 that suggested a number of road maintenance projects be implemented.
Lynn said those 2013 estimates and proposals were made “before the streets started to break down,” and he urged the TBD proposal be passed in full and then have the mayor commission civil engineers to “tell us where we are, where we are going to go and what it is going to cost” before adopting a funding mechanism.
“We have already made mistakes. I don’t want us to make any more, so we need that study,” Lynn said. After that, the TBD board, which would be the City Council itself, could then determine what funding would be necessary.
“I don’t want to see us limit it before the report comes in,” Lynn said.
However, Martin succeeded — also on a 4-3 vote — with his proposal to take the other funding options off the table and out of the TBD, which now can propose only the o.2 percent local sales tax increase as a measure that first must be approved by city voters to be enacted.
“I’m against this, but it’s time for us to move forward,” Martin said in voting for the amendment but against the final ordinance. He also called it flawed in that it doesn’t include more current figures and proposals for the maintenance that would be needed.
“We are being asked to put in a tax but we don’t have the right information,” Martin said. He urged the others to “vote this thing down, rework it, make sure we have got what we actually want to do. I really do believe that if roads are a priority for the city, the citizens will tell us and they will vote for a sales tax, or maybe even vote for license tabs. But I do not want to move forward on an ordinance that takes the vote for taxes away from the people.”
In addition to Lynn, the others who voted for the final proposal were Bob Peterson, Lisa Griebel and Gordon Broadbent.
Broadbent noted the TBD is establishing a process: “If we don’t do A, I don’t think we will ever get to B and C and D unless someone has another idea. … I do approve of getting started.”
