The Pullman City Council met Tuesday to hear citizens’ opinions on a proposed sales tax increase to fund transportation improvements.

Councillors heard the words of a resident, Jamie Brush, in favour of a possible 0.1% sales tax increase after some of the regular agenda items were completed and public comment was opened.

Jamie Brush, a Pullman resident and founder of the nonprofit Synergy Bicycle Alliance, said she supports the tax increase because improving pedestrian and bike path safety has been neglected in the past.

This increase would correlate with Pullman’s already implemented Complete Streets Policy, she said.

“(It) emphasizes the need for safe, efficient, convenient, reliable and equitable access for all modes of transportation, including pedestrians, cyclists, transit users and motorists,” Brush said.

The sales tax increase is made possible by Pullman’s Transportation Benefit District, which city councilors created last April after working through a backlog of requests for road maintenance, the Moscow-Pullman Daily News reported.

The district is a council member-led government organization focused on raising funds for transportation and infrastructure improvements, but Pullman’s TBD was created without an initial revenue source.

Hoping to generate another revenue stream, the county is allowed under state law to raise the sales tax by 0.1% without voter approval. That means Pullman’s current sales tax would rise from 7.9% to 8%. A 0.2% increase would need voter approval, though the city is not considering that at this time, according to the meeting agenda.

Council member Pat Wright said she was intrigued by the potential increase to keep pace with inflation, as the state’s sales tax rate is among the lowest.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the inflation rate rose by nearly 4 percent last year.

The 0.1% increase would generate about $520,000 annually for transportation improvements, according to council documents. Those funds would contribute to the city’s five-year, $83 million transportation improvement plan.

“(It would) maintain, maintain and operate existing transportation infrastructure,” council documents say. “I think we absolutely need the tax increase to invest in our roads and build sidewalks where we need them, and also to support our public transportation system.”

City Manager Mike Urban said he would return to council on Sept. 24 with an agenda item for further discussion and possible action on the tax increase, but no action was taken during Tuesday’s meeting.

If the VAT increase is approved, it will come into effect on January 1, 2025.