The city of Woodland, Washington, offers a case study in government funding. Voters there will consider a sales tax as part of its transportation benefit district, but the benefit could extend to the police department as well.
"When Woodland residents vote in November, they’ll have the opportunity to approve a 0.2 percent sales tax for transportation projects, reports Adam Littman.
"The tax, to be applied on top of the city’s existing 7.8 percent rate, comes from the transportation benefit district that formed in June," adds Littman. The state law's allowance of transportation benefit districts means Woodland's action could follow in the footsteps of previous benefit districts like those in Battle Ground and Vancouver, both located in Clark County.
The aim of the new tax, however, is far from the transit taxes that attract media attention in large cities around the country. Littman explains:
A major reason for the transportation benefit district was to fund roadwork and free up money for the Woodland Police Department. [Mayor Will] Finn said money is now diverted to roadwork from the city’s general fund, but if the city can find some other revenue source for transportation, more money can go to the police department.
So while the police department would have more money for hiring, the transportation benefit district would continue funding projects like "sidewalk and curb replacement or repairs, chip seal and pavement maintenance/repair, pavement overlays, [the] Scott Avenue reconnection and the city’s six-year capital projects plan."
Read the full story: Woodland’s fledging transportation benefit district awaits vote on sales tax
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