Pasco council assumes powers of Transportation Benefit District, adopting ordinance 4826

PascoCity Council voted to adopt ordinance No. 4826, formally assuming the powers, duties and obligations of the Pasco Transportation Benefit District. The decision followed a staff presentation describing revenue pressures in the citystreet fund and the administrative benefits of the city governing the TBD directly.

Deputy City Manager Miss Sigdell summarized why staff recommended the move, citing declining motor-vehicle fuel tax revenues and other revenue shifts. "So we need to find more revenue to preserve our streets and do other transportation projects," she said, noting the cityhas seen a roughly 43% increase in road miles since 2010 and that the street fund is scheduled to be in the negative by the end of the biennium. After the public hearing produced no speakers, Mayor Pro Tem moved to adopt the ordinance; the motion was seconded and, per the transcript, the mayor called for the ayes and declared the motion carried.

Why this matters: assuming TBD powers allows the city to pursue dedicated transportation funding tools (for example, vehicle-license fees or a TBD sales-tax allocation), and staff told council this route is administratively more efficient than operating a separately governed district. The ordinance formalizes the councilas the governing board for the district, enabling the city to make TBD-related fiscal decisions as part of regular city business.

What comes next: staff will proceed under the adopted ordinance to administer TBD functions as directed by council; any revenue measures that require voter approval would still follow the statutory process and be presented to voters before implementation.