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an enterprise fund for transportation TUF funds cannot be diverted to police, of responsibility to all users. A TUF
system management, planning, design, fire, council grants, community services will provide a revenue stream collected
construction and maintenance. A TUF or any other activities not covered in monthly via the governing agency’s system
can include all aspects of transportation the ordinance establishing the TUF for utility billing. Similar methods such as
including roadways, sidewalks, greenways, Enterprise Fund. Stormwater Utility Fee (SUF), solid waste
transit, etc. Fee is based on use, not property value or fee and sanitary sewer fee.
vehicle weight
For comparison, the following illustrates This is in keeping with the difference TRANSPORTATION RATE ESTABLISHMENT
the benefits of fees vs. taxes: between a tax and fee. How do we establish a rate to
Taxes go to the general fund Fees are fixed schedule
Tax rates are debated annually, and determine the actual number of vehicular
There is competition for general fund transportation portion of the funding trips associated with each property?
dollars among Police, Fire, Community over the past several years has not
Services, Parks, etc. Police and Fire can met the basic maintenance needs of While there are variety of options
receive approximately 60 percent of the the system. Fees are established by available, a reliable and accurate method
general fund dollars. ordinance. is utilizing the Institute of Transportation
Fees are collected for a specific purpose Taxes can be delinquent Engineers (ITE) Trip Generation – a
There are thousands of parcels under multi-volume document that provides
local government control due to traffic data for approximately 170 different
delinquent taxes. land-use types.
Fees are collected via utility bills ITE method provides:
Fees are included in the utility • Average trip generation rates from
bills, not paid annually, creating a
consistent revenue stream for the local studies conducted throughout the
government. United States and Canada since the
Many cities (primarily in Oregon and 1960s.
other select locations) have implemented • Extremely reliable data, primarily
the TUF system – where all transportation collected from land uses that are not
system users contribute – including tax- heavily influenced by adjacent mass
exempt parcels. The method has proven transit facilities or where other travel
successful and provides a fair allocation demand management controls are in
place.
• Data from over 5,500 traffic studies
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