Street Maintenance Fee introduced at work session on Tuesday

At Tuesday’s budget work session, the City’s Transportation & Public Works Department (TPW) presented the proposed Street Maintenance Fee. The fee would provide consistent funding to improve street conditions citywide. The proposed residential flat fee of $3 monthly could prevent much higher reconstruction costs in the future.

In 2024, TPW’s pavement analysis showed that the City’s pavement condition would continue to decline without significant additional maintenance funding. Engineering models indicated that the City should increase annual street maintenance funding by an additional $66 million to slow deterioration and reduce future reconstruction needs. The City currently has 3,616 lane miles of streets in good condition that primarily need preservation treatments, 2,885 lane miles in fair condition that require heavier maintenance and rehabilitation, and 2,119 lane miles in poor condition that will ultimately require reconstruction.

PayGo maintenance funding supports maintenance of streets in good and fair condition, while bond funding is generally required for the full reconstruction of streets in poor condition. The analysis reveals that the network is deteriorating faster than current funding levels can sustain and that the City faces a funding gap of approximately $66 million.

The Pavement Condition Index (PCI) is a measure of overall street conditions. Studies show that deterioration accelerates without intervention, and early maintenance could avoid additional costs. Every $1 million of additional maintenance funding can avoid incurring almost $5 million in future bond reconstruction costs. Funding instability and underfunding accelerate deterioration of streets, adding $375 million each year to the existing bond funding need.

The fee structure guidelines include:

Supplemental fee to match manageable delivery level

Low administrative burden

Impact-based (pay for wear on the network)

Proportional cost allocation to system usage

Industry-standard methodology

Factors include land use type, number of trips, length of trip and more

Analysis shows that a combination of preservation and heavy maintenance will be needed for vital streets. In-house and contract maintenance will be combined to repair and maintain streets, reducing future capital needs.

To implement the fee, TPW will refine it over the summer in preparation for council adopting the ordinance. The fee will be implemented over 18 months in early 2028. Public education will continue, as streets are a top priority for residents.

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