HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 3.E 08/03/2015DATE: August 3, 2015
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Coun it
FROM: John C. Brown, City Manager
Agenda Item #3.E
SUBJECT: Resolution Urging the State of California to Provide New Sustainable Funding for
State and Local Transportation Infrastructure
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council adopt the attached Resolution Urging the State of
California to Provide New Sustainable Funding for State and Local Transportation Infrastructure.
BACKGROUND
Governor Brown has called the State Legislature into an extraordinary session to focus on
transportation and infrastructure funding. In response to the Governor's action, the League of
California Cities' Board of Directors adopted a resolution to support transportation funding.
The Board's resolution urges the Governor and Legislature to provide new sustainable funding
for state and local transportation and infrastructure. The League is also working with a broad
coalition to seek support for transportation funding, and is asking cities to pass the attached
resolution as soon as possible so that Legislators will have listed support from their districts
when they return to Sacramento from their summer recess on August 17 th
DISCUSSION
As discussed with the City Council during this past May's budget meetings, costs in the Streets
funds are increasing. At the same time, revenues are on a downward trend. This trend reflects
declining gas tax revenues, due to greater fuel efficiency in gasoline powered vehicles and
increasing popularity of hybrid and electric vehicles. FY 2015/16 reductions further reflect a
reduction by the State of six (6) cents per gallon in the variable fuel rate. Gas tax is insufficient
to meet our current and future streets maintenance needs and is not sustainable as a major
funding source. This condition is not unique to Petaluma; it's a challenge faced by jurisdictions
across California. As an older city, however, with older streets and infrastructure built in many
places over adobe soils, Petaluma is particularly challenged by its streets maintenance needs.
This is reflected in Petaluma's street pavement index score of 44, which places the average
condition of our streets in the "poor" category'. Tax measures that would have provided
meaningful local street funding, the City's Measure Q in 2014 and the County's Measure A in
2014 California Statewide Local Streets and Roads Needs Assessment
2015, were both defeated by voters. Given the magnitude of the challenge, this is an issue that
appears to require a statewide solution. How this issue is addressed on a statewide basis will be
critical for the near- and long -term viability of Petaluma's Streets fund, and to the condition of
Petaluma's streets.
As noted in the Background section of this report, the League Board urges the Governor and
Legislature to provide new sustainable funding for state and local transportation and
infrastructure. League staff continues to hear that Legislators need to hear directly from the
cities within their districts. The attached resolution was provided for our use in communicating
with our legislative delegates, and focuses on seven points that the Legislature is encouraged to
use to guide it in adopting transportation funding legislation:
1. Make a significant investment in transportation infrastructure.
2. Focus on maintaining and rehabilitating the current system.
3. Equal split between state and local projects.
4. Raise revenues across a broad range of options.
5. Invest a portion of diesel tax and /or cap and trade revenue to high - priority goods movement
projects.
6. Strong accountability requirements to protect the taxpayers' investment.
7. Provide consistent annual funding levels.
Council is encouraged to adopt the attached resolution, which will be shared with our legislative
delegates.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS
No estimate of additional revenues that might be available to Petaluma as a result of the
Extraordinary Legislative Session and the League Board's proposal can be made at this time. As
Council is aware, new revenues with a value of over $200 million have been estimated as
necessary to bring the City's pavement management index rating up from a rating of "poor' to a
rating of "good ". A Streets Fund budget of $3,647,125 is recommended for FY 2015/16. This is
a decrease of $530,027 (12.7 %) from the revised budget for 2014/15. Estimated revenues are
$3,021,666, and are $166,768 ( -5.2 %) less than revised estimates for 2014/15.
ATTACHMENTS
Resolution
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ATTACHMENT I
RESOLUTION URGING THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA TO PROVIDE NEW
SUSTAINABLE FUNDING FOR STATE AND LOCAL TRANSPORTATION
INFRASTRUCTURE
WHEREAS, Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. has called an extraordinary session to
address the immense underfunding of California's transportation infrastructure; and
WHEREAS, cities and counties own and operate more than 81 percent of streets and
roads in California, and from the moment we open our front door to drive to work, bike to
school, or walk to the bus station, people are dependent upon a safe, reliable local transportation
network; and
WHEREAS, the City of Petaluma has participated in efforts with the California State
Association of Counties, League of California Cities, and California's Regional Transportation
Planning Agencies to study unmet funding needs for local roads and bridges, including sidewalks
and other essential components; and
WHEREAS, the resulting 2014 California Statewide Local Streets and Roads Needs
Assessment, which provides critical analysis and information on the local transportation
network's condition and funding needs, indicates that the condition of the local transportation
network is deteriorating as predicted in the initial 2008 study; and
WHEREAS, the results show that California's local streets and roads are on a path of
significant decline. On a scale of zero (failed) to 100 (excellent), the statewide average pavement
condition index (PCI) is 66, placing it in the "at risk" category where pavements will begin to
deteriorate much more rapidly and require rehabilitation or rebuilding rather than more cost -
effective preventative maintenance if funding is not increased; and
WHEREAS, the results show that the City of Petaluma's local streets have a statewide
average pavement index of 44, placing them in the "poor" category; and
WHEREAS, if funding remains at the current levels, in 10 years, 25 percent of local
streets and roads in California will be in "failed" condition; and
WHEREAS, cities and counties need an additional $1.7 billion just to maintain a status
quo pavement condition of 66, and much more revenue to operate the system with Best
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Management Practices, which would reduce the total amount of funding needed for maintenance
in the future; and
WHEREAS, models show that an additional $3 billion annual investment in the local
streets and roads system is expected to improve pavement conditions statewide from an average
"at risk" condition to an average "good" condition; and
WHEREAS, if additional funding isn't secured now, it will cost taxpayers twice as much
to fix the local system in the future, as failure to act this year will increase unmet funding needs
for local transportation facilities by $11 billion in five years and $21 billion in ten years; and
WHEREAS, modernizing the local street and road system provides well - paying
construction jobs and boosts local economies; and
WHEREAS, the local street and road system is also critical for farm to market needs,
interconnectivity, multimodal needs, and commerce; and
WHEREAS, police, fire, and emergency medical services all need safe reliable roads to
react quickly to emergency calls and a few minutes of delay can be a matter of life and death;
and
WHEREAS, maintaining and preserving the local street and road system in good
condition will reduce drive times and traffic congestion, improve bicycle safety, and make the
pedestrian experience safer and more appealing, which leads to reduce vehicle emissions helping
the State achieve its air quality and greenhouse gas emissions reductions goals; and
WHEREAS, restoring roads before they fail also reduces construction time which results
in less air pollution from heavy equipment and less water pollution from site run -off; and
WHEREAS, in addition to the local system, the state highway system needs an
additional $5.7 billion annually to address the state's deferred maintenance; and
WHEREAS, in order to bring the local system back.into a cost - effective condition, at
least $7.3 billion annually in new money going directly to cities and counties.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT the City Council of the City of
Petaluma strongly urges the Governor and Legislature to identity a sufficient and stable funding .
source for local street and road and state highway maintenance and rehabilitation to ensure the
safe and efficient mobility of the traveling public and the economic vitality of California.
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Petaluma strongly urges the Governor
and Legislature to adopt the following priorities for funding California's streets and roads.
1. Make a significant investment in transportation infrastructure. Any
package should seek to raise at least $6 billion annually and should remain in
place for at least 10 years or until an alternative method of funding our
transportation system is agreed upon.
2. Focus on maintaining and rehabilitating the current system. Repairing
California's streets and highways involves much more than fixing potholes. It
requires major road pavement overlays, fixing unsafe bridges, providing safe
access for bicyclists and pedestrians, replacing storm water culverts, as well as
operational improvements that necessitate the construction of auxiliary lanes
to relieve traffic congestion choke points and fixing design deficiencies that
have created unsafe merging and other traffic hazards. Efforts to supply
funding for transit in addition to funding for roads should also focus on fixing
the system first.
3. Equal split between state and local projects. We support sharing revenue
for roadway maintenance equally (50/50) between the state and cities and
counties, given the equally - pressing funding needs of both systems, as well as
the longstanding historical precedent for collecting transportation user fees
through a centralized system and sharing the revenues across the entire
network through direct subventions. Ensuring that funding to local
governments is provided directly, without intermediaries, will accelerate
project delivery and ensure maximum accountability.
4. Raise revenues across a broad range of options. Research by the California
Alliance for Jobs and Transportation California shows that voters strongly
support increased funding for transportation improvements. They are much
more open to a package that spreads potential tax or fee increases across a
broad range of options, including fuel taxes, license fees, and registration fees,
rather than just one source. Additionally, any package should move California
toward an all -users pay structure, in which everyone who benefits from the
system contributes to maintaining it — from traditional gasoline - fueled
vehicles, to new hybrids or electric vehicles, to commercial vehicles.
5. Invest a portion of diesel tax and /or cap & trade revenue to high - priority
goods movement projects. While the focus of a transportation fitnding
package should be on maintaining and rehabilitating the existing system,
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California has a critical need to upgrade the goods movement infrastructure
that is essential to our economic well- being. Establishing a framework to
make appropriate investments in major goods movement arteries can lay the
groundwork for greater investments in the future that will also improve air
quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
6. Strong accountability requirements to protect the taxpayers' investment.
Voters and taxpayers must be assured that all transportation revenues are
spent responsibly. Local governments are accustomed to employing
transparent processes for selecting road maintenance projects aided by
pavement management systems, as well as reporting on the expenditure of
transportation funds through the State Controller's Local Streets and Roads
Annual Report.
7. Provide Consistent Annual Funding Levels. Under current statute, the
annual gas tax adjustment by the Board of Equalization is creating extreme
fluctuations in funding levels — a $900 million drop in this budget year alone.
A transportation funding package should contain legislation that will create
more consistent revenue projections and allow Caltrans and transportation
agencies the certainty they need for longer term planning.
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