Discussion: Citizens' Transportation Tax Commission Update

The Citizens' Transportation Tax Commission was appointed by the Council to make a recommendation on priority transportation projects related to the Transportation Sales Tax, which sunsets in June 2020.  The Commission has met six times and has three more meetings scheduled before they submit their recommendation to Council at the end of March.

Staff time, printing costs, consulting fees, and other related expenses in support of the Commission are the only immediate financial impact.  Longer term, if the transportation tax is not extended, the City will lose approximately $8 million annually in revenue.

The update has no immediate impact on policy.  The final outcome of the Commission's work and prospective election in November 2018 will determine the Council's ability to address infrastructure, mobility, and related policies.

TRANSPORTATION AND OTHER PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE
Deliver quality community assets and continue to advocate and implement a highly performing multi-modal transportation system

Goal T.1. Improve mobility and access throughout the region.

 The Council passed the resolution creating the Commission in June 2017 and appointed 15 Commissioners in August 2017.

 No options at this time.

The Council appointed the Commission last year. There are 15 members including a representative from the Transportation Commission.  The Commission received a general education on transportation, and reports on needs by transportation mode experts in highways, streets, transit, and pedestrian and bicycle facilities.  An overview of the Flagstaff Metropolitan Planning Organization regional transportation plan focused on program decision making.  Economic Vitality provided a presentation, as did Comprehensive Planning and Northern Arizona University. A session on finance informed the Commission of projected available funds and the implications of debt financing (bonding) and inflation.  Commission members expressed thoughts on the projects they are interested in at their fourth meeting and started prioritizing projects at their last meeting.

Three more meetings are scheduled:  February 27, March 5, and March 19.

The projects under consideration by the Commission are generally larger than those considered under Transportation Decision 2000, involve more right-of-way, and potentially more partnering with either private or other public sector agencies.  Additionally, operations, planning, and programming are more sophisticated now than 20 years ago, creating choices beyond traditional capital projects.

The Commission received public comment from the Sustainability Commission, Flagstaff Climate Action Council, and others.  The main thrust of the comments is to focus on non-polluting or less-polluting modes of transportation, such as pedestrian, bicycle and transit, and to avoid making poor investments in roads.

Staff provided updates on Commission progress to the Sustainability Commission and Transportation Commission in response to requests from those bodies.

 No further financial information at this time.

The Community may ultimately benefit from continued investment in transportation. Investments over the past 20 years improved mobility and managed congestion.  Data suggests that these trends are reversing, and reporting from various interests and experts to the Commission, including information from past public input, shows existing and growing needs for continued transportation investment.

The Commission meetings are open to the public and have been duly posted. The meetings have also been advertised in editions of Cityscape. Additional involvement is anticipated after the Commission's report to Council.