Battle Ground is the second city in North Clark County to take advantage of a new state law for road funding as the city council approved a .1% retail sales tax following months of discussion.
During its July 18 meeting, the Battle Ground City Council voted 6-1 to approve the sales tax increase. Councilor Tricia Davis was the sole dissenting vote.
The tax revenue can be used “to acquire, invest in, construct, improve, provide, operate, preserve, maintain and/or fund transportation improvements,” according to the approved ordinance.
The vote was a reversal of past action taken by the city council. A month earlier, the majority of the council rejected the .1% increase and other increases it could have taken. Cities can have up to a .3% sales tax through their transportation benefit districts, though anything above the .1% must be approved by voters in the city.
During a July 5 meeting, Councilor Shane Bowman said councilors talked with city staff and realized something needed to be done. Battle Ground has more than $23 million in deferred maintenance. The current funding levels would have dropped the city’s “pavement condition index” score if the tax wasn’t approved.
The sales tax is estimated to bring in roughly $807,000 for the city in 2023. Over its 10-year lifespan, it will result in about $11.4 million in revenue through 2032.
The council also moved to put a .2% sales tax increase for transportation on the November ballot in 2024. The council previously discussed the timeframe of placing the measure on the ballot. They chose a later date because they will need to launch some community outreach efforts to provide information on what the tax is intended to do.
The council had scant discussion prior to the July 18 vote, though during the July 5 meeting, several members elaborated on their reversal to approve the ordinance.
Councilor Troy McCoy said taking the “councilmatic” .1% increase would address road issues quickly. Relying strictly on a citizen vote could delay a solution by more than a year.
“I just think waiting on this puts us too far out,” McCoy said.
He noted the .1% public safety sales tax Clark County has placed on the Aug. 2 ballot. Funds the city would receive through that potential tax could supplant current public safety spending which could be used for roads.
If the countywide measure passes, the city could reconsider putting its own tax increase on the ballot in 2024. Cities in Clark County would only receive 40% of the revenue from a public safety tax collected on a per capita basis. Previous projections have Battle Ground receiving about $368,000 annually through that tax.
The city council has publicly shown opposition to the county tax, which is primarily intended to fund body-worn cameras for Clark County Sheriff’s deputies. Chief issues raised by councilors are the perception that the city would pay for county services due to the uneven split, and the differing priorities between the city’s focus on roads and the county’s focus on law enforcement.
“We’ve fully funded our police,” Councilor Adrian Cortes said at a meeting in June when the city council voted against a resolution in support of the county sales tax.
On the city’s sales tax, Cortes said the urgency of road funding is obvious to him.
“This past weekend I was in my garage and I had a neighbor walk up to me … and was asking me about some of these roads,” Cortes said. “We need to double-up our emphasis on our roads.”
“I think the citizens will definitely be in support of this,” Cortes said.
Battle Ground joins Woodland, which has taken the councilmatic .1% sales tax for roads. Woodland’s council approved the second reading of its own ordinance on July 18 with a unanimous vote.
