Boulder's New Transportation Utility Fee: A Closer Look and Its Implications

Transportation Funding / Approved Citywide Transportation Maintenance Fee

Date of Vote: October 23, 2025

What happened:

The Boulder City Council passed the 2026 budget, which includes a newly approved property-based transportation maintenance fee. 

Residential detached dwellings are slated to pay approximately $54 per year; multifamily dwellings about $42 per unit.

Non-residential properties will be charged based on the “trip-generation” model (e.g., 1,000 sq ft of retail or office space is charged a set amount).

The fee is projected to raise around $6.4 million annually, starting mid-year 2026.

Why it matters:

The city argues that its transportation system like roads, sidewalks, multi-use paths, and signals are becoming seriously underfunded, with existing sales tax streams insufficient to keep up. This fee represents a new dedicated revenue stream, shifting cost burdens from more general taxes to a property-based assessment.

Because the fee was passed as part of the budget and not via a voter-approved ballot measure, many view it as a hidden tax. For residents, small business owners, and property-owners, this means an additional annual charge regardless of income, use, or the broader tax burden.

Jenny’s Take:

I opposed this fee and would have voted no.

First, because the nature of the fee is effectively a tax, and taxes of this sort demand voter approval. Doing this through a budget line item circumvents that democratic check.

Second, I believe our existing budget resources, including sales and use tax revenue and other general funds, should be sufficient to cover core transportation infrastructure maintenance. We should not place another separate burden on residents and property-owners to fill a budget gap created by rising costs or deferred maintenance.

The shift from general tax funding to a property-based fee changes the policy principle: It makes infrastructure costs into monthly or annual fees rather than shared public investment. That is a direction I find troubling, especially for longtime residents and small business owners who already carry a large share of Boulder’s cost-of-living pressures.

In short: Infrastructure is essential, but how we pay for it matters. When a fee targets property owners directly and bypasses the ballot, it raises concerns about fairness, transparency, and fiscal priority. Boulder must ensure every dollar of existing revenue is accounted for before layering on new fees.