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WASHINGTONSTATE

COUNTYROADADMINISTRATIONBOARDREPORT

FERRYCOSTVERSUSTHEAVERAGECOUNTYBRIDGE

TENYEARTRENDS

WHATARETHEMAJORCOSTINCREASES?

FARESCOLLECTED

STATESUPPORT

OF

COUNTY

FERRIES

SUMMARYANDCONCLUSIONS

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COUNTYROADADMINISTRATIONBOARD

2008COUNTYFERRYSYSTEMREPORT

Theoperationofferriesbycountieswhichcarryvehiclesare

consideredto

be

acomponent

of

the

county

road

system.

Thedocksandtransferspansareclassifiedasbridgesfor

fundingeligibility

purposes.

Theferriesthemselvesareconsideredextensionsofthe

adjoining

county

roads.

Muchlikearoadorbridgethatprovidestheonlyaccess,servicemustbecontinued

toensureaccesstopropertiesand

publicinterests

whether

on

the

mainland

or

an

island.

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COUNTYROADADMINISTRATIONBOARD

2008COUNTYFERRYSYSTEMREPORT

WhatcomCountyhas955milesofcountyroadsand136bridgesinthecountybridgeinventorywhichincludesthetwoLummiIslandferrydocks.

Thereisacountybridgeeveryforevery7milesofcountyroad.

In2007thecountyspent$210,092fortheaverage

county

bridgeandthe7milesofroadbetweenbridges.

After

considering

the

tolls

paid

by

ferry

users

($907,020),

ferrysupportprovidedbythestate($334,562)andferryfundinterestearned($67,164),thenetcosttothecountywas$567,570orbetween2and3timesthecostoftheaverage

countybridgeandthe7milesofroadsbetweenbridges.

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TENYEAROPERATINGCOST

TRENDS

Operatingcostshaveincreasedby$1.55millionor158%

since

CY

2000.

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COSTSTRUCTUREHASCHANGEDOVERTHEPAST10YEARS

CY2000OPERATINGCOST=$987,000

CY2009

OPERATING

COST=$2,546,000

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FARES

HAVE

MORE

THAN

DOUBLED

FARESHAVEINCREASED$653THOUSANDINTHEPASTTENYEARSWITHMOSTOFTHEINCREASE($482THOUSAND)SINCE2006.SINCECY2000THECONSUMERPRICEINDEXINCREASEDBY24.5%WHILEFARECOLLECTIONSINCREASEDBY132%

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STATE

FUNDING

OF

COUNTY

FERRIES

A1954countygastaxallocationstudymadeprovision,

intheory

at

least,

for

ferry

operation

costs

and

provided

additionalgastaxforcountiessaddledwiththenecessityofoperatingaferry.*

Toprovidesomeinterimrelief,however,theLegislaturepassedanactwhichmakesavailableaspecialferry

operationssubsidy

for

these

three

counties

designed

to

pickupabouthalfoftheirferryoperatingdeficits.*

*COUNTYROADADMINISTRATIONBOARDREPORTSFROM1975AND2008.

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STATE

SUPPORT

OF

COUNTY

FERRIES

THESTATEPROVIDESFUNDSTOTHECOUNTYFERRIESIN

TWODIFFERENT

PROGRAMS:

MOTORVEHICLEFUELTAXDISTRIBUTIONATTRIBUTABLE

TOFERRIES

WHICH

PROVIDES

AN

INCREASED

DISTRIBUTIONTOCOUNTIESTHATOPERATEVEHICLE

FERRIES.

DEFICITREDUCTIONPROGRAMWHICHALLOCATES

$500,000ANNUALLYBETWEENPIERCE,SKAGITAND

WHATCOMCOUNTIES

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STATE

FUNDING DEFICITREDUCTION

$500,000PERYEARISSPLITBETWEENWHATCOM,SKAGITANDPIERCECOUNTYTOSUPPORTTHEIRFERRIES

THEFUNDSAREALLOCATEDBETWEENCOUNTIESBASEDUPONTHESIZEOFTHEIRFERRYSYSTEMLOSSESLESSDISTRIBUTIONOFSTATEMVFTFUNDSATTRIBUTABLETOTHEFERRY.

UPTO50%OFTHEDEFICITISREIMBURSED

IN

2009

THE

DEFICIT

REDUCTION

FUNDS

EQUALED

9.3%

OF

THE

DEFICIT.

COUNTY

DEFICIT*

REIMBURSEMENT

PIERCE

$3,048,583

$328,186

WHATCOM

$1,048,146

$97,652

SKAGIT

$ 796,012

$74,162

*

AFTER

ADJUSTMENT

FOR

FERRY

MVFT

FUNDS

PROVIDED

TO

COUNTIES.

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ASSTATESUPPORTDECLINESWHATCOMCOUNTYS

SHAREOFCOSTINCREASES

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STATEFUNDING

OF

COUNTY

FERRIES

ALTHOUGHDESIGNEDASAMEANSTOPROVIDEINTERIM

RELIEF

35

YEARS

AGO,

THE

STATE

HAS

DONE

NOTHING

TO

PROVIDEAPERMANENTSOLUTION.

OVER

THE

YEARS

THE

DEFICIT

REDUCTION

FUNDING

HAS

DECLINEDFROMITSINTENDED50%TOUNDER10%.

THECOUNTYOFFICALSOFTHETHREECOUNTIESAFFECTEDBYTHISFUNDINGNEEDTOJOINFORCESANDUSETHEIR

POLITICALINFLUENCEATTHESTATELEVELTOOBTAINTHE

INTENDEDLEVEL

OF

PERMANENT

FERRY

SUPPORT.

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STATESUPPORTOFCOUNTYFERRIES

INRECENTYEARS,THEAMOUNTOFTHEMOTORVEHICLEFUELTAX

DISTRIBUTIONATTRIBUTABLETOTHEFERRYISNOTBEINGTRANSFERREDINTOTHEFERRYFUND ASITSHOULDBE.

BECAUSEFERRYFARESAREBASEDONACTUALOPERATINGCOST

RATHERTHAN

NET

COST

TO

THE

COUNTY.

THERE

IS

NO

IMPACT

ON

THEFERRYFARERECOVERYCALCULATION,BUTITDOESOVERSTATETHEFERRYCOSTTOTHECOUNTYANDUNDERSTATETHEFERRYFUND

IN2009THEMVFTWASEQUALTO$140,311;SINCETHEFERRY

FUNDWASESTABLISHEDTHEMVFTHASTOTALED$407,002.