Staff recommends the City Council hear the overview presentation and review the Draft 2022 UPWP at this Work Session. The Council is scheduled to take action on the 2022 UPWP at its August 9 meeting and instruct PCC Designee Mayor Cole to give a positive recommendation to PCC for final local approval.

The City-County Planning Division is presenting the 2022 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) for the Billings Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for City Council review and recommendation if approval to the Billings Policy Coordinating Committee (PCC). The UPWP is primarily for the purpose of programming the federal dollars that Billings receives from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for transportation planning and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for transit (MET) planning. These funds are passed through the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT).

All transportation planning activities are included in the UPWP so that it represents a comprehensive document for the urban transportation planning program. This UPWP proposes planning activities for Federal Fiscal Year 2022, which runs from October 1, 2021, through September 30, 2022. This UPWP corresponds directly with the Planning Division’s annual work plan. The significant changes in this year’s program include an update to the 2018 Long Range Transportation Plan, Phase II of the Safe Routes to School Plan, and completion of the North Bypass Corridor Study. The Transit section is Chapter II of the UPWP. The document is consistent with past programs in its content and format.

At this Work Session, staff recommends the City Council hear the overview presentation and review the Draft 2022 UPWP. The Council is scheduled to take action on the 2022 UPWP at its August 9 meeting and instruct PCC Designee Mayor Cole to give a positive recommendation to PCC for final local approval.

At its August 9 meeting, the City Council may:

• Approve the UPWP as drafted and instruct Mayor Cole to give a positive recommendation to PCC; or
• Make amendments to the program document and instruct Mayor Cole to give a positive recommendation to PCC; or
• Reject the program and instruct Mayor Cole to give a negative recommendation to PCC. Rejection of the UPWP would conflict with the operation of the Billings MPO, mean a significant reduction in funding to complete planning activities in Billings and Yellowstone County, and would affect staff, resources, future transportation planning processes and programs.

Approval of the 2022 UPWP allows the City to access Federal funds for transportation planning in the community. Federal and local funds are combined to provide most of the planning work done by the Planning Division for the City and the County. If the UPWP is not approved, there would be a significant loss of resources for community planning and the community's ability to manage transportation planning projects and programs would be severely limited.

The breakdown of funding sources for the FY 2022 UPWP is estimated below:

• $280,000 Planning Dept. Fee Revenue (City of Billings)
• $155,000 Planning Dept. Fee Revenue (Yellowstone County)
• $523,000 Yellowstone County Planning Levy
• $1,679,581 Federal Planning (PL) Allocation

       $2,637,581 Total - Local and Federal Program Funding (UPWP)