"Fixing streets boils down to more money"

City officials explained what it would take to fix streets in the city of Walla Walla: Money.

Essentially, the City Manager, Nabiel Shawa, and Public Works Director Ki Bealey, explained to a public meeting (attended by 10 people, half of whom were public works employees), why street maintenance funding has dwindled since the 1980s.

Fair use prevents posting the complete article here, so I recommend reading the article at the Union Bulletin (log in probably required), or in the 15 May hard copy edition.  But the key points from the article are:

1. Tax "revenues" have decreased for a variety of reasons, including I-695 and "stagflation" in the 1980s.
2. There isn't any street advocate in Walla Walla during the annual budget discussions.
3. The streets in Walla Walla are falling apart due to less money. 
4. The subject was studied in Walla Walla in 2004, and were rated at 60% of optimum. The current estimate -- 7 years later -- puts the roads at 40% of optimum.
5. "We are taking comments from the town halls and surveys to try to put together a specific plan to take back to citizens after Labor Day with an eye toward a November ballot issue," Shawa said.

Utility maintenance is a prime task of local government, so I'm stunned at the idea that a "street hero" is needed to prod city officials to do their jobs.  The lone commenter on the UB article puts it much better:

 I think it is fairly obvious that citizens had no idea they had to champion an obvious necessity in the budget--and that the city had "promised" raises to people while every other entity was going about breaking promises to ensure their own bottom lines. Maintenance of the streets fall into the  "No-Brainer" category of givens.

 The city is currently in the process of conducting a scientific survey to determine which of the four options people would support (in a public ballot).  The options to increase street maintenance funds, as presented by Shawa, are:

• Option A, Shawa explained, would be to tack on $50 to that $30 vehicle tab renewal fee. Add to this the $13 of required fees, and the average cost for a passenger vehicle would be $93 per year; vehicles over 4,000 pounds and trucks would pay more. Currently, the city has the right to add up to a $20 vehicle tab fee, but anything above that would require a simple majority general voter approval.
• Option B would be to implement a property tax levy of 50 cents per every $1,000 of assessed property value; the owner of a $150,000 home would pay $75 per year. The levy would also require a simple majority voter approval.
• Option C would be an additional two-tenths of a percent to the current 8.6 percent sales tax. This too would require a simple majority voter approval, but the additional sales tax could only be collected for 10 years, after which point voters would have to approve it again. Walla Walla County is also considering adding one-tenth of a percent to fund mental health services. If both passed, the sales tax in Walla Walla would be 8.9 percent.
• Option D came with a caveat of threatened cuts to the Aviary, library or other departments, as $1 million would be dedicated from the general budget. This would not require voter approval, but also would not increase taxes.

In all fairness, this is a balanced list of options.  Option D is a good one as well, and kudos to the staff for making it. I recommend keeping a close eye on this one, but a letter or e-mail to the city is in order, if you can't make the town halls.