By Dana Guzzetti
Editor   

The cost of street work and how to pay for was a top priority for the Benicia city council at their Oct. 16 meeting. They grappled with complicated decisions on how many roads to fix, when to do the work, and how much to borrow.
There is a list of streets that will be improved with currently budgeted funds, but more money is needed to keep the city from falling behind in street maintenance.
The problem they face with street maintenance is the longer a city waits to do it, the more they deteriorate, and the more it costs to fix them. Unpredictable factors such as the general economy, California state gas tax revenue, inflation, and the fact that the amount of work on the streets will increase with years are not precise.
The latest Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) report on Benicia streets recommended a plan to spend $18 million over five years, and that would keep the cost of deferred maintenance the same as it is now, at $31 million.
The MYC study is an inventory of the condition of all of the streets, which results in numerical ratings of good, fair and poor on a Pavement Condition Index (PCI).

In 2027, Benicia’s streets rated 56, which is in the “Good” category, but below the 2016 Solano County average of 65 (latest available rating).
The council considered various options for using Measure C funds to supplement revenue from the franchise agreement with the waste company and Benicia’s share of the California state gas tax.
Benicia citizens approved Measure C, a one percent Local Transaction and Use Sales Tax in Nov. 2014 and revenue from it has been an average of $5 million and is expected to rise. Roads are one of the top three priorities for the use of Measure C funds.
This kind of municipal loan is not a voter-approved bond. The city “leases” one of its assets and could borrow up to $2.3 million every two years. According to finance consultant NHA Advisors, $300,000 is the cost to borrow $20 million for 20 years.
Their dilemma is should the city borrow more, increasing finance costs but reducing the cost of future road work, or simply try to maintain the status quo with only a minor five-point improvement in the PCI rating for the city as a whole.
Since the MTC report showed a graph predicting the cost of deferred maintenance would more than double by 2027, the council members began to analyze the merit of doing more work now if the financing cost was less than the increased cost of future work.
Three scenarios for the amount of work to do and three financing options. The idea of exploring new, more durable kinds of street materials was suggested. Although the council is under some time pressure, more information is needed.
The process of arranging Measure C-type financing could take more than four months before the bonds could go to sale, and construction financing is in place.
The council will be making decisions on project priorities and financing soon.
The list of streets to be repaired, the MTC Report and the Measure C financing proposals are available at Benicia City Hall and more information is available at www.ci.benicia.ca.us , search for “Pavement Management Program”.

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