Ephrata opts to seek transportation benefit district

EPHRATA — The Ephrata City Council on Wednesday unanimously agreed to begin the process of forming a transportation benefit district (TBD) to raise money for regular maintenance of the city’s slowly crumbling roads.

The city needs roughly $200,000 every year for regular road maintenance, and hopes to raise that money through either a voter-approved $20 per-plate car tab or a dedicated two-tenths-of-a-percent sales tax.

The city hopes to begin public hearings soon on the proposal, with a recommendation approved by the city council in mid-November and sent to the city’s voters on April 24, 2018.

Crago told the city council that the city spent its reserves this year on roughly $140,000 in damage to the city’s streets and roads. There are no more reserves, he said, and without a dedicated funding source, preventative maintenance will be impossible.

“A few will have to go back to gravel if they are damaged next winter,” Crago said. “Potholes have more than expended our reserves.”

The city has obtained a number of federal and state grants for major construction projects, such as the resurfacing of Nat Washington Way from Basin Street to the railroad tracks, but state aid for regular maintenance dried up to a trickle more than a decade ago.

Crago said there simply wasn’t any other alternative to creating a transportation benefit district and raising taxes. The city simply doesn’t have the money.

“We’re slightly understaffed, and in comparison our wages are below state average. The council and the mayor are among the lowest paid in the state,” Crago said. “We account for our money very well.”

Ephrata residents currently pay an additional one-tenth-of-a-percent additional sales to help fund police.

The city has scheduled a series of open houses at City Hall to discuss the TBD proposal prior to city council meetings. The first is set for Wednesday, Aug. 2, at 6:30 p.m., with three more planned for Sept. 6, Sept. 20, and Oct. 4, all at City Hall and all beginning at 6:30 p.m.

The council will then hold public hearings on the matter Wednesday Oct. 18, Nov. 4 and 18, with the city council set to vote on Nov. 18. If the plan is sent to Ephrata voters, the council is also planning a series of open forums on the proposal for March and April of next year.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com.