Thank you Tumwater!
You may have heard by now that Proposition 1 is on its way to passing with over 68% of voters approving the measure. This is more than a 2 to 1 margin of approval - a strong recognition of the need and vote of confidence in your City government.
Proposition 1 approves a 0.2% sales tax increase (2 cents on a $10 purchase) for street and sidewalk maintenance for ten years. The State Department of Revenue will begin collecting this tax on October 1, 2015. Because of the normal delay in processing tax receipts, Tumwater will begin to receive these revenues in December.
As noted in the election materials, our Public Works staff have rated the condition of our streets and identified those in greatest need of repair and those that would benefit from preventative maintenance. Now the hard work begins to coordinate this work with underground utility repairs and other construction, so we can sequence improvements efficiently over the next ten years.
Over the next several months, the City Council, acting in its capacity as the Transportation Benefit District Board, will work with staff to establish priorities for next summer's (2016) street maintenance schedule.
Again, thank you for the vote of support. I look forward to your input as we map out future sidewalk and pavement repairs in Tumwater.
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