RTC seeks voter advisory on electric-vehicle fee as regional funding gap grows

Paul Nelson, government affairs officer for the Regional Transportation Commission, told the Washoe County Citizen Advisory Board that the agency faces a long-term funding shortfall even as vehicle miles traveled rise.

"We just finished our most recent update to the 2050 plan…we've got 107 projects and about $4.6 billion worth of funding or of money that we're going to have to spend," Nelson said, describing the metropolitan planning organization's role in prioritizing projects and distributing federal and state funds. Nelson said fiscal year 2026 revenues are roughly $290 million while expenses are about $330 million.

Why the gap? Nelson said improved fuel efficiency and rapid adoption of electric vehicles are shrinking taxable gallons of fuel even as people drive more. "Back in June of 2020, there were about 1,500 EVs in Washoe County. By June of 2025, that was up above 10,000. So, 562% increase during that time," he said.

To study options for replacing lost pump taxes, the RTC hired a consultant and conducted market research. Residents surveyed favored an annual registration-style fee; Nelson said three options were tested — $150, $200 and $250 per year — with the $250 option getting the most support in the polling. Nelson stressed any local advisory measure would be nonbinding: if the county asks voters about a fee and voters approve, a legislative change at the state level and further action would be required to make it law.

Local commenters raised alternative approaches in the public-comment period. Katherine Yu Arte, a candidate for Washoe County Commission District 5, urged taxing EV charging stations directly "per kilowatt the same way we're charged per gallon" to capture revenue from visitors and transient charging.

Nelson also reviewed tools used to pay for growth: regional road impact fees charged to developers (he said single-family fees north of I‑80 are around $5,900 per unit and lower south of I‑80), targeted grants, and project-specific funding. He listed near-term and long-range projects that would rely on that funding, including West 4th Street safety work, BRT platform and bus-lane improvements on the Virginia Line, Arlington Avenue bridge replacements, the Sierra Street bridge project (estimated $33.8 million), and studies of the Northeast Connector and potential commuter rail to the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center.

Nelson said the Washoe County Board of Commissioners will consider next month whether to place an advisory question on the November ballot; he noted an advisory vote would only send a signal to the state legislature, which would still control any statutory fee.

The RTC presentation prompted questions about program specifics — how impact fees are calculated, the mode of public outreach for neighborhood plans, and how bike‑count and public-input data are collected. Nelson said neighborhood network plans rely on public meetings and planning‑department data collection and that some projects are already funded through a mix of fuel taxes, sales taxes, federal grants and local fees.

Next step: the county board will decide whether to ask voters for an advisory opinion on an EV-related fee; if it proceeds, any law-making step would require state action.