Transportation tax

The City of Shelton's Transportation Benefit District tax, passed by voters in 2015, is set to expire and the Shelton City Council on Tuesday night gave preliminary approval to put a proposed extension of the tax before voters on the Aug. 25 primary election ballot.

The council can make the move official with a second vote at the meeting at 6 p.m. April 15 in the Shelton Civic Center.

In May 2015, the then-Shelton City Commission established the Shelton Transportation Benefit District to provide a funding mechanism for transportation improvements that preserve, maintain and operate the planned and/or existing transportation infrastructure. The TBD board called for a special election Nov. 3, 2015, for the authorization of sales and use tax of 0.2% for the purpose of financing all or part of the costs associated with transportation improvements in the district.

That sales and use tax expires in February 2026, with the last collection distributed by the city in April 2026.

The existing sales and use tax of 0.2 % generates about $740,000 annually. The adopted 2025 street fund expenditure budget is $2,377,749.

If voters approve the tax extension, the sales and use tax will be for 10 years and not exceed 0.3%.

At Tuesday's meeting, Mayor Eric Onisko said the city has been a "good steward" of the taxes collected. The money was put to "good use" on improvements that include Olympic Highway South, Brockdale Road and the city's first roundabout.

The money can be used on the following:

■ Projects identified in the city's yearly adopted Six-Year Transportation Improvement Plan.

■ Modeling of the transportation system capacity and pavement maintenance.

■ Sidewalk, street and alley repair and maintenance.

■ Projects identified in the 2024 Pavement Condition Assessment Report, or as amended, such as crack sealing, roadway overlays and chip sealing.

■ Offset costs for public works street operation and maintenance division budgets.

■ Projects identified in the 2025 Transportation Plan, or as amended.

■ Projects identified in the 2025 Transportation Comprehensive Plan, or as amended.

■ Use of matching funds to leverage state and federal transportation grant opportunities.

■ City-wide transportation safety and right-of-way improvement projects.

■ Improvements to the city multimodal bike/pedestrian connectivity, including critical pedestrian route projects.

■ Use funds in house and/or in partnership with Mason County to resurface residential roadways.