Carson City

CURRENT ROADWAY FUNDING

Carson City receives roadway funding from two main sources, fuel taxes and sales taxes. 

Fuel Taxes 

Carson City receives the majority of funding for roadway construction and maintenance projects through local fuel tax revenues based on a cost-per-gallon pumped. In total, motorists who fuel their vehicles in Carson City currently pay $0.1535 (15.35 cents) per gallon for gasoline-powered vehicles and $0.05 (5 cents) per gallon for diesel-powered vehicles. A summary of Carson City's gasoline and diesel tax revenues are shown in the figure. 

In 2021, motorists in Carson City only paid $0.016 (1.6 cents) in fuel taxes for every one mile driven on Carson City roads. This amount is not enough to adequately maintain our roads. For comparative purposes, Carson City collects 43% less than Washoe County ($2.8 cents per one mile driven) and 24% less than the State of Nevada as a whole ($2.1 cents per one mile driven).

As fuel-efficient and alternative fuel vehicles become more prevalent, revenue collected from local fuel taxes will not keep up with roadway construction and maintenance costs.

Other Funding Sources

Carson City receives other roadway funding from local sales tax sources and garbage disposal franchise fees.

1. Basic City/County Relief Tax (BCCRT) = 0.25% of sales tax
2. V&T Infrastructure Sales Tax = Portion of 0.125% of sales tax
3. Waste Management Franchise Fee

The complete summary for Carson City roadway funding sources is shown in the figure below.

Carson City collected $11.7M in total revenue in FY 2023 from the sources in the prior figure. Of that, there is approximately $4.5 million available annually specifically for roadway construction and maintenance projects in Carson City. Considering all locally available roadway funding sources, each one mile traveled on roads in Carson City generated approximately $0.027 (2.7 cents) in revenue. The figure below shows the past and future projection cost per mile driven by revenue source. Revenue generated remains relatively the same through 2023 and gradually begins to decrease each year resulting in an estimated 23% decrease in local revenue by year 2030, primarily due to the following:

• More fuel efficient and alternative fuel vehicles will become more common, driving more miles, but not contributing at the same rates as they once did.
• Upcoming sunsets of V&T Sales Tax (2027).

Funds are distributed between two divisions within Public Works: the Transportation Division and the Street Operations and Maintenance Division as indicated below. Funds for the Transportation Division are primarily used to fund roadway design and construction projects. Funds for the Street Operations and Maintenance Division are primarily used to repair and maintain existing roads. The graph below also shows the FY 2023 local revenue and expenses for the two divisions by category.

In addition to local tax revenues, Carson City relies on competitive, discretionary federal and state funds to support the City’s pavement management efforts. Currently, those revenue sources are not enough to preserve and maintain Carson City’s main roads at preventative measures, and federal and state funds are not eligible for use on local streets which account for over 70% of Carson City's roadway system. Even with this limitation, Carson City has leveraged $37M in federal funding specifically for transportation related projects between FY 2018 and FY 2023, and has spent $8M during that time as a required local match. 

The funding problem for roadways and the historical reliance on the gas tax model is not unique to Carson City and many cities and counties in Nevada are also looking into funding solutions. Nevada neighbors in Washoe County and Clark County recently enacted fuel tax indexing to help address the lack of roadway funding in their communities.

The longer the City goes without additional funding for roadway infrastructure, the more expensive it will become. Think of the price point of car maintenance: Regular, scheduled maintenance ($), Replacing parts when needed ($$) and ignoring maintenance and blowing the engine ($$$). Preserving and Maintaining Carson City’s roadways has a similar menu.

Preventative Maintenance = $
Minor Rehabilitation = $$
Major Rehabilitation/Reconstruction = $$$

In terms of dollars, it makes much more sense to preserve pavement over the lifetime of a street than to let it go beyond repair to the point of needing to be reconstructed. It also makes more sense in terms of disruption. Street preservation may result in only a few days of inconvenience to those who live on and around the street, but major work takes weeks or months causing much more disruption, detours, and time to navigate through neighborhoods.

The chart below demonstrates the significant gap between total revenue generated for roadway maintenance and the associated construction costs needed to preserve and maintain roadways.

Carson City currently collects $0.028 (2.8 cents) per one mile driven. When considering the significant gap between revenue and construction costs, the City would need to collect $0.069 (6.9 cents) per one mile driven just to maintain the existing pavement condition. As shown in the figure below, the revenue generated per mile driven is far below this amount.

• Gasoline taxes at the federal, state and local levels have remain unchanged since the 1990s.
• More fuel efficient and alternative fuel vehicles are becoming more common, driving more miles, but are not contributing at the same rates as they once did.
• The construction costs have increased.
• The City is responsible to maintain more miles of roads and streets.