Agenda - Council - 01/24/2017 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Transportation INTRODUCTION Metro Cities supports a comprehensive transportation system as a vital component in planning for and meeting the physical, social and economic needs of our state and metropolitan region. A comprehensive transportation system is one that includes streets and bridges, transit and multi-modal solutions that work cohesively to best meet the region's transportation needs. Adequate and stable sources of funding are necessary to ensure the development and maintenance of a high quality, efficient and safe transportation system that meets these needs and that will position the state and region to be economically competitive in the years ahead. 5-A Transportation Funding Under current transportation financing structures, transportation needs in the metropolitan region continue to be inadequate and underfunded. Our transportation funding system relies primarily on local property taxes and fees and the motor vehicle sales tax (MVST) for transit. Automobiles are becoming more fuel efficient and MVST receipts continue to lag behind projections, resulting in funding levels that continually fail to meet demand. Transportation funding and planning must be a high priority for state, regional and local policymakers so that the transportation system can sufficiently meet the needs of the state's residents and businesses and its projected population growth. Funding and planning for our regional and statewide systems must be coordinated at the federal, state, regional and local levels to optimally achieve long term needs and goals. In addition, cities lack adequate tools and state resources for the maintenance and improvement of municipal systems, with resources restricted to property taxes and special assessments. Cost participation requirements have overburdened city budgets. It is imperative that alternative revenue generating authority be granted to municipalities and state resources be made available for this purpose to relieve the burden on the property tax system. Metro Cities strongly supports stable and sufficient statewide transportation funding and local tools to meet the long term transportation system needs of the region and local municipal systems. Metro Cities supports funding to assist cities over-burdened by cost participation responsibilities imposed by improvement projects on the state's principal arterial system and on the county state aid highway (CSAR) system. 2017 Legislative Policies 51