Agenda - Council - 04/24/2018 - Laserfiche WebLink

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therefore it will be a long process ahead. He noted that the roads will continue to degrade because of the poor subgrade of the roads. Mayor Strommen stated that the City has picked off the worst of the worst thus far and will at some point hit a bubble. She stated that the more people that are assessed, the more contentious this program will become and that is why this is a good time to discuss the financing once again before they reach that bubble. City Engineer Westby stated that since the program began in 2015, staff is finding they are able to complete more work with the dollars than they anticipated and believed that a bigger chunk could be taken in the next five-year program that starts in 2020. Bret Weiss, WSB, stated that no one wants assessments and the amount that is contributed from assessments is dismal towards the total cost of the projects. He stated that streets are a core function of the City and it is important to have a pavement management plan and follow that plan. He provided additional information on pavement management plans and the elements included within. He provided the typical pavement performance curve without maintenance and compared that to the lifecycle with maintenance. He noted that with the right course of maintenance, the lifespan of a roadway can extend to 60 years. He noted that regular sustainable funding is a key element of the pavement management plan. He reviewed the different funding methods which include 100 percent tax levy, 100 percent assessments, combination of taxes and assessments, State Aid, and franchise fees. He stated that his industry has attempted to gain a trunk fee for roads through the legislature but have not been able to make that happen. He stated that the franchise fee would be paid monthly by residents in lieu of assessment. He stated that commercial and industrial properties really favor franchise fees because of the heavy assessment that typically occurs towards those types of properties. He reviewed the pros and cons of the combination of taxes and assessments method. He stated that once the franchise fees were implemented in Rogers, residents no longer oppose road projects and actually want their roads to be fixed. He reviewed the pros and cons of the franchise fee method for funding. He noted that the franchise fee option has no increase to the tax levy, provides a stable revenue stream that can be adjusted, is collected by all street users (including schools, nonprofits, and renters), and reduced costs for the project expenses (financial, legal, and engineering). He reviewed the negative aspects of the franchise fee method including less transparency on how the revenue is collected, requires public outreach to describe the fee and process, and the utility companies typically do not favor this method. He stated that the franchise fee method for funding provides a reduction in overall project costs, improved community engagement, and provides a fair distribution of costs to all road users. He provided an example of how the franchise fees appear on the utility bills in the city of Rogers. Mayor Strommen stated that one comment that the City heard was that roads should be included in the operational budget of the City but noted that there is no way the City could pay for roads in its usual budget. She stated that for those people that have not been assessed, they could still be under the impression that the roads are included in their taxes. Mr. Weiss stated that if the City is going to fund the roads with 100 percent tax financing, the tax levy would increase significantly and that would not collect from all users of the roads as City Council Work Session / March 27, 2018 Page 2 of 7