Transportation Utility Fees: Maintaining Local Roads, Trails, and Other Transportation

November 2020
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LIST OF FIGURES

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APPENDIX A. EXAMPLE ORDINANCE

Excerpts from the City of Hillsboro, OR, City Code, Chapter 3: Finance, Subchapter 3.32 "Transportation Utility Fee," found at http://qcode.us/codes/hillsboro/

3.32.010 Definitions

3.32.020 Transportation utility fee*

3.32.030 Classification*

3.32.040 Delegation*

3.32.050 Transportation fund*

3.32.060 Fee imposed

3.32.070 Fee determination*

3.32.080 Billing and collection*

3.32.090 Enforcement and penalties

3.32.100 Waiver of fees

3.32.110 Fee credits

3.32.120 Administration

3.32.130 Appeal

3.32.140 Mixed use and related properties

3.32.150 Implementation rules

3.32.160 Inspection of developments

* Denotes subchapters printed in full below; go to the municipal code to see the entire ordinance.

3.32.020 Transportation utility fee

A transportation utility fee (TUF) is created to fund planning, management, construction, preservation, maintenance, and, where necessary, alteration of the transportation system in the city, including patching, sealing, and reconstructing public streets, repairing sidewalks,maintenance and repair of public bike paths, landscape enhancements along the rights-of-way, tree replacement along streets, maintenance of safety and operational equipment, and the operating cost of street lights.

3.32.030 Classification

The TUF is based on the direct and indirect use of or benefit derived from the use of public transportation facilities. It is not a property tax and is not subject to the limitations of Article XI, Section 11 of the Oregon Constitution.

3.32.040 Delegation

The manager will work with the transportation committee (TC) to establish the process of consideration and assignment of categories of use subject to appeal to the council. The manager will develop and maintain programs for the maintenance of transportation facilities and capital improvement programs to upgrade substandard facilities to current engineering standards for the safety and welfare of the community. The programs are subject to finance committee (FC) review and council approval and the allocation and expenditure of budget resources for transportation facility improvement, maintenance, and street lighting. The manager is responsible for the collection of fees under this subchapter.

3.32.050 Transportation fund

  1. All funds collected under this subchapter will be deposited into the transportation fund. The TUF collected under this subchapter, including fees carried over from prior years and investment earnings from the fees, will be used to operate and administer the transportation facility maintenance and capital improvement programs. This program will patch, seal, overlay/reconstruct streets, repair sidewalks, maintain and repair bike paths, landscape along the rights-of-way, replace trees along streets, maintain safety and operational equipment, and pay for lighting streets. The TUF paid and collected is reasonably related to the cost of providing these services. If the TUF collected is insufficient for these purposes, the council may allocate other non-dedicated funds to pay such costs. The council may direct reimbursement from the transportation fund if additional fees are collected. All amounts in the transportation fund may be invested in accordance with State law. Earnings from such investments will also be credited to the transportation fund.

  2. The administration, maintenance, and operations expenditures from the transportation fund need not relate to the real property from which the TUF is collected. The TUF may not be used for other purposes, except to pay for an equitable share of accounting, management, and other administrative costs that relate to operation of the TUF program. Otherwise, TUF revenues will be used solely to pay for the cost of operation, administration, maintenance, repair, improvement, renewal, replacement, and reconstruction of transportation facilities.

  3. Revenues received for transportation facility operations, maintenance, and preservation will be used solely for such purposes.

3.32.070 Fee determination

  1. The TUF will be calculated as a monthly service charge and collected from owners or occupants of developed property in a manner similar to the collection of water or sewer fees. Fees need not be invoiced monthly but will not be invoiced for intervals longer than 3 months.

  2. The amount of the TUF will be determined by the TC and approved by council resolution. The TUF may be modified annually based on one or more of the following factors:

    1. Cost of Service Adjustment. A rate adjustment reflecting a change in the annual amount of revenue required to maintain the transportation facilities defined by this subchapter after including other city revenue that may be pledged for that purpose;
    2. Inflationary Index Adjustment. A rate adjustment reflecting the annual changes in the cost of labor, materials, and other services linked to changes to broader economic conditions as measured by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) Four-Quarter Moving Average Construction Cost Index.
  3. The annual adjustment to the TUF determined by this section will not be automatic or predetermined. The TC will review the TUF program annually for goals, accomplishments, adequacy of collected revenue, and the availability of other revenue sources to determine and recommend any modification to the amount of TUF collected.

  4. Monthly service fees will be established for the following types and classes of developed property:

    1. Residential Developed Properties (RDPs). Developed uses whose primary purpose is domestic shelter, excluding hotels, motels, and other commercial establishments that provide temporary shelter.
      1. Single-family includes developed property with one, two, or three separate residences. A mobile or modular home located on a developed property, whether alone or with one other dwelling, is considered a single-family dwelling. Each dwelling unit is subject to the TUF for this class. An accessory dwelling is not considered a single-family dwelling.

      2. Multifamily includes developed property with four or more attached dwellings, condominiums, or town homes and mobile homes in parks as defined in State law. Multifamily also includes accessory dwelling units. Each dwelling is subject to the TUF for this class.

    2. Nonresidential Developed Properties (NDPs).

      1. Group 1–those that generate fewer than seven average daily trips per 1,000 gross square feet of developed area.

      2. Group 2–those that generate seven to 20 average daily trips per 1,000 gross square feet of developed area.

      3. Group 3–those that generate 21 to 52 average daily trips per 1,000 gross square feet of developed area.

      4. Group 4–those that generate 53 to 150 average daily trips per 1,000 gross square feet of developed area.

      5. Group 5–those that generate 151 to 400 daily trips per 1,000 gross square feet of developed area.

      6. Group 6–those that generate more than 400 average daily trips per 1,000 gross square feet of developed area.

      7. Group 7–those others with trip generating characteristics that are either not documented in the Institute of Transportation Engineers Manual or have special circumstances that merit separate fee calculation. Examples include gas stations, hospitals, universities, churches, transit centers, fairgrounds, and aviation facilities.

      8. The amount of the TUF for the various types and groups of developed properties will be determined by the following:

        1. The TUF shall be allocated between RDP and NDP based on the following distribution by center lane mile of roadway:

          1. Arterial, collector, and neighborhood route roadways shall be allocated equally between RDP and NDP.

          2. Local commercial, local industrial, commercial alley, and industrial alley roadways shall be allocated entirely to NDP.

          3. Local residential and residential alleys shall be allocated entirely to RDP.

        2. The amount of the TUF for the various groups of NDP shall be based on the distribution of traffic volumes between the groups as estimated using the Institute of Transportation Engineers Trip Generation Manual, 7th Edition.

      9. The TUF for NDPs will be a minimum charge equal to the lowest monthly RDP rate per dwelling unit.

      10. Periodically, the city will reevaluate the allocation of costs for developed property classes and related rate structure to ensure that transportation utility costs are fairly apportioned. A fee examination will take place at least once every 5 years. (Ord. 6111 § 1, 2015; Ord. 5961 § 1, 2011)

      3.32.080 Billing and collection

      1. The TUF will be billed and collected with monthly water and sewer bills for developed properties using water and sewer. The TUF will be billed and collected separately for developed properties not utilizing water and sewer.

        1. For an RDP occupied by the owner and subject to water and sewer utility charges, the TUF bill will be sent to the owner.

        2. For an RDP not occupied by the owner, the TUF will be billed to the same persons as the bill for water and sewer charges.

        3. For an NDP that is subject to water and sewer utility charges, a common TUF bill will be sent to the same persons as the bill for water and sewer charges, excepting special billing procedures related to mixed-use properties as set forth in this subchapter.

        4. For an RDP or NDP that is not subject to water and sewer utility charges, the TUF bill will be sent to the owner.

        5. If a tenant in possession of any developed property pays the fee, the payment relieves the owner from that obligation. However, the city will not look to any person other than the owner for the payment of the TUF.

        6. All TUF bills become due and payable upon receipt.

      2. If payments received from utility billings are inadequate to satisfy all of the water, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, and TUF balances in full, credit will be applied proportionately between funds, unless directed otherwise by the manager.

      APPENDIX B. ABBREVIATIONS AND GLOSSARY

      Abbreviation Term Description
      ADA Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 A civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. As pertains to local transportation infrastructure, depending on the project, the ADA could require increased accessibility, such as the installation of curb ramps.
      FAHP Federal-aid Highway Program

      Supports State highway systems by providing financial assistance for the construction, maintenance, and operations of the Nation's 3.9 million miles of highway network, including the Interstate Highway System, primary highways, and secondary local roads.

      FHWA Federal Highway Administration An agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation that supports State and local governments in the design, construction, and maintenance of the Nation's highway system (Federal-aid Highway Program) and various federally and tribal owned lands (Federal Lands Highway Program).
      ITE Institute of Transportation Engineers

      Educational and scientific organization established in the 1930s that has produced a number of versions of the ITE Trip Generation Manual.

      ITE Manual ITE Trip Generation Manual Manual produced by ITE, based on survey data from thousands of studies primarily in the United Stated and Canada since the 1960s. Most of the data is collected at suburban locations and provided on a voluntary basis. The data has been collected at various time of the year under a variety of conditions.
      O&M Operations and Maintenance

      Functions, duties, and labor associated with

      daily operations and normal repair, replacement of parts and structural components, and other activities needed to preserve an asset so that it continues to provide acceptable services and achieves its expected life.
      PCI

      Pavement Condition Index

      The PCI is a numerical indicator that rates the surface condition of the pavement. The PCI provides a measure of the present condition of the pavement based on the distress observed on the surface of the pavement, which also indicates the structural integrity and surface operational condition (localized roughness and safety).
      PMUF Pavement Maintenance Utility Fund A fund created in Oregon City, OR, to collect all revenues from its TUFs program.
      TUFs

      Transportation Utility Fees

      Fees imposed by municipalities on property owners, treating the transportation system like a utility, charging property owners or occupants for their share of transportation costs based on system use.

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