Tacoma Voters Pass Prop 3 and Prop A for Street Repair and Improvements

Today, certified results show that Tacoma voters said yes to repairing Tacoma’s streets and passed Proposition 3 and Proposition A. 

These propositions will work together to repair and improve city streets through a number of methods including pothole repair, street resurfacing and building missing sidewalks. In addition, Proposition A provides additional funding for transportation projects outlined in the Six-Year Comprehensive Transportation Plan. 

“Tacoma voters have demonstrated that they want to be part of the solution. By approving Props 3 and A, they're saying yes to safe and better streets, civic pride and family-wage jobs,” said Mayor Marilyn Strickland.  “The poor condition of Tacoma’s roads have been decades in the making and we now have dedicated funds to repair and maintain them in a significant way."

To achieve funding goals, Proposition 3 (Resolution 39249) will raise funds through an increase in property and utility earnings tax while Proposition A (Resolution TBD010) will raise funds through an increase in sales tax.  All taxes associated with the propositions will expire after 10 years. Over this time frame, these propositions combined are projected to generate $175 million of new revenue. In addition, these measures would leverage an estimated $120 million in grants and matching funds and the City will commit an additional $30 million. The accumulation of all these sources would raise a total of $325 million for Tacoma’s streets.

“With the approval of Props A and 3, Tacoma voters have expressed that the time has come to invest in our city’s streets,” said City Manager T.C. Broadnax. “Over the next 10 years this work will be a major focus for the City and we are committed to keeping residents informed about how these funds will be used to address much needed streets and infrastructure improvements.”

For City staff, next steps include developing annual reports, web pages and using Tacoma Data to connect residents to efforts related to these propositions. The Transportation Benefit District is also required to report back to the City Council annually on projects funded by the district and the spending plan for the upcoming year.  The additional funding sources associated with these propositions will not go into effect until 2016 and the City will use the Six-Year Infrastructure Maintenance Plan, Six- Year Comprehensive Transportation Plan, Transportation Master Plan and the recent pavement condition survey as documents to guide investment in transportation infrastructure.