council3_rubal
Well-known member
History
“In 2009, the City hired an engineering firm to conduct an assessment of every roadway in the City. Each road was given a rating of good, fair, poor, and very poor. The proposed bond funds would be targeted toward streets that have a fair, poor, or very poor rating; however, there is no guarantee that the funds are sufficient to repair all the streets in these categories. “
In November 2022, Universal City residents voted to approve Proposition A, a $30 million bond program for street and associated drainage improvements.” A 20 year bond project!
Public works identified 23 (only 24.7%) of the 93 streets for the 2022 Bond expenditures, with these projects to be completed in 20 Years (2042).
This means that in 2042, seventy (70) streets that were identified in 2009 as fair, poor, or very poor will still need to be repaired! This excludes other aging streets in our City. This means that it will take approximately 80 years to complete the street repair on the 2009 list!
It has been over 16 years since a comprehensive street survey was done. None is planned for FY 2026. (Most cities identify the need for significant street maintenance every 7 years, depending on use and weather.)
Based on simple interest calculations for a 20-year bond, the following can be expected as interest (and therefore not directly used for needed street repair). If 3% interest, then $9.9M not used for repair (10 streets), if 3.5% = $11.5M (11.5 streets), if 4% = $13.6M (nearly 14 streets), and if 5% interest = $17.6M (nearly 18 streets).
The proposed motion would:
Combined Municipal Sales Tax Ballot Proposition for "the reduction of the Venue Sales Tax rate authorized by the City of Universal City from the rate of one- half of one percent to the rate of one-eighth of one percent; and the adoption of a local sales and use tax in the City of Universal City at the rate of three-eighths of one percent to provide revenue for maintenance and repair of municipal streets.
I urge the Council for your consideration on this matter.
[It is noteworthy that a number of streets that met the 2009 requirements of significant maintenance are within the Aviation District. This may be a consideration for additional EDC support.]
“In 2009, the City hired an engineering firm to conduct an assessment of every roadway in the City. Each road was given a rating of good, fair, poor, and very poor. The proposed bond funds would be targeted toward streets that have a fair, poor, or very poor rating; however, there is no guarantee that the funds are sufficient to repair all the streets in these categories. “
In November 2022, Universal City residents voted to approve Proposition A, a $30 million bond program for street and associated drainage improvements.” A 20 year bond project!
Public works identified 23 (only 24.7%) of the 93 streets for the 2022 Bond expenditures, with these projects to be completed in 20 Years (2042).
This means that in 2042, seventy (70) streets that were identified in 2009 as fair, poor, or very poor will still need to be repaired! This excludes other aging streets in our City. This means that it will take approximately 80 years to complete the street repair on the 2009 list!
It has been over 16 years since a comprehensive street survey was done. None is planned for FY 2026. (Most cities identify the need for significant street maintenance every 7 years, depending on use and weather.)
Based on simple interest calculations for a 20-year bond, the following can be expected as interest (and therefore not directly used for needed street repair). If 3% interest, then $9.9M not used for repair (10 streets), if 3.5% = $11.5M (11.5 streets), if 4% = $13.6M (nearly 14 streets), and if 5% interest = $17.6M (nearly 18 streets).
The proposed motion would:
- Allow > $1M per year in sales tax revenue to be applied directly to our infrastructure needs.
- This would provide funding for 1-2 additional major street projects per year (using the package numbers provided by Public Works for the 2022 bond)
- It eliminates lost funding due to “interest” payments on bonds, so all money can be directed for street repair. It makes smart use of our tax money!
- By not requiring future bond funding, it will reduce the need for future property taxes for increases. (Bonds and their interest are leveraged against property taxes.)
- Finally, this eliminates our convoluted policy of applying restricted funding limits to parks, which is then intended for relief of general fund needs.
Combined Municipal Sales Tax Ballot Proposition for "the reduction of the Venue Sales Tax rate authorized by the City of Universal City from the rate of one- half of one percent to the rate of one-eighth of one percent; and the adoption of a local sales and use tax in the City of Universal City at the rate of three-eighths of one percent to provide revenue for maintenance and repair of municipal streets.
I urge the Council for your consideration on this matter.
[It is noteworthy that a number of streets that met the 2009 requirements of significant maintenance are within the Aviation District. This may be a consideration for additional EDC support.]