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The cost to maintain and operate the city’s transportation system has grown beyond the city’s annual dedicated sales tax revenue and budget. Over the last 15 years, the city has analyzed a variety of potential funding mechanisms, resulting in two separate community working groups identifying a Transportation Maintenance Fee (TMF) as the most viable revenue mechanism.

As part of the city’s Long-Term Financial Strategy, the city is advancing a Transportation Maintenance Fee in the 2026 Budget to cover the cost of a select array of the most critical underfunded and unfunded transportation maintenance needs during a time of slowing economic growth, rising costs, flattening of major revenue sources, and recent state legislation impacting city revenues.

What is a Transportation Maintenance Fee (TMF)?

A Transportation Maintenance Fee (TMF) is an annual or monthly fee paid by residential and commercial properties to cover the cost of transportation maintenance activities such as pavement management and filling potholes, traffic signs, signals and marking replacement, median maintenance, and bridge repair. This type of fee is typically paid through utility bills, but can be assessed in other ways.

What will the TMF pay for?

NeedsCost
Pavement and Street Safety Asset Management $4,229,000
Bridge Asset Management $813,000
Sidewalk Repair $434,000
Multi-Use Path Capital Maintenance $380,000
Roadway Markings Maintenance $296,000
Bus Stop Maintenance $271,000
Total $6,423,000

Why does the city need a TMF?

As the city’s transportation system has expanded and matured, the cost to maintain and operate it has grown beyond the city’s annual dedicated sales tax revenue and budget. Unfunded and underfunded capital maintenance results in deferred maintenance, which ends up costing more over time. Cost escalation and price inflation for materials and labor also contribute to diminishing purchasing power. As part of the city’s Long-term Financial Strategy, the city is advancing a Transportation Maintenance Fee (TMF) as part of the city’s 2026 Budget to cover the cost of a select array of the most critical underfunded and unfunded transportation maintenance needs.

Why now?

A TMF provides a predictable, reliable and scalable source of funding that is not subject to economic variability. Over the last 15 years, the city has analyzed a variety of potential funding mechanisms. This intensive community process resulted in two separate community working groups identifying the TMF as the most viable revenue mechanism.

In February 2020, Boulder City Council directed staff to conduct a nexus study for the TMF. Council prioritized the creation of a Long-Term Financial Strategy at its April 2024 retreat. Staff initiated TMF scoping later that summer and procured a consultant for the nexus study in fall 2024. Staff updated the Transportation Advisory Board in May 2025 and the city’s Financial Strategy Committee (FSC) in June 2025.

Over the last few months, the city finalized the fee’s nexus study to determine rates that properties would pay based on a person-trip methodology to establish the legal nexus for such a fee structure to comply with State law, and concurrently initiated focused stakeholder outreach.

How are TMF rates determined?

The amount a property pays is determined by its typical use of the transportation system measured in trips generated by the use of that property, which is used to calculate a property’s fair share of the cost of maintaining the transportation system. Under the current fee study, the proposed rates for residential and commercial properties are provided in the tables below.

Residential Land Use TypeUnitAnnual Fee
Detached (formerly known as Single-family)Dwelling$54
Multi- (formerly known as Multi-family)Dwelling$42

*As defined by Colorado law
Non-Residential Land Use TypeUnitAnnual Fee
Commercial1,000 Sq Ft$160
Office1,000 Sq Ft$71
Institutional1,000 Sq Ft$97
Industrial1,000 Sq Ft$32
Research & Development1,000 Sq Ft$72
Warehouse Facility1,000 Sq Ft$11
Non-public university*Student$7
Non-public elementary school*Student$10
Non-public middle school*Student$9
Non-public high school*Student$8

What is the projected revenue?

$6.4 million annually and $2.25 million in 2026. The city is anticipated to initiate fee collection mid-year 2026 and generate $2.25 million. Thereafter, the TMF will generate upwards of $6.4 million annually.

Will the TMF replace local sales tax?

While the TMF will shore up funding for select critical maintenance needs, it will only cover a portion of the city’s overall transportation funding needs. Transportation funding in the city comes from a variety of sources, including local sales tax as well as external, competitive regional, state, and federal grants that supplement this limited local funding to realize Boulder’s transportation goals and climate commitment. The TMF will allow the city to have flexibility in meeting core maintenance needs while continuing to work on the bigger transportation funding strategy.

While the TMF is focused on a select subset of critical transportation maintenance needs, the proposed CCRS sales tax extension will fund a wide range of important infrastructure and capital improvement projects across the city for a variety of areas, such as parks, fire and police stations, trailheads, bridges, and recreation centers.

Institutional uses exempt from local fees include entities such as CU Boulder and Boulder Valley School District (BVSD). The shares for these exempt institutional uses are included in the total under- and unfunded needs and rate calculations; they will be invited to contribute voluntarily through agreements outside of the fee ordinance. Residential and commercial rates will not increase or decrease depending on exempt institutional participation.

Next Steps

City staff have incorporated the TMF in the city’s 2026 Budget and the city’s Long-Term Financial Strategy. City Council approved enacting the TMF in October 2025 as part of the city’s annual budget process.

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