The Bremerton Transportation Benefit District Proposition No. 1 would authorize an annual vehicle fee of $30 to be imposed and collected for three years for “pavement preservation” and other street repair projects.

This amount is nominal compared to the hundreds of dollars drivers were charged nearly a decade ago to license their vehicles. When our car tab fees went down, so did the revenue for street repairs. Citizens were no longer taking such a big hit on their pocketbooks, but take a look around Bremerton and you’ll see the streets sure did.

The state budget is so deep in the red, Bremerton will undoubtedly not see any funds anytime soon for repaving the city’s broken streets. If local drivers want their streets repaired, it is going to be up to them to approve this measure.

Citizens want to continue the revitalization of Bremerton to bring economic prosperity to the downtown area, but it’s difficult to entice people and businesses when the roads are unkept and full of potholes. Many roads in the city are to this point already and many more will become this way if not maintained. These roads aren’t going to fix themselves and right now we can’t depend on the Legislature to provide funds for our city, when cities all across the state are facing the same issues.

The fact the money from the annual vehicle fee can only be used to repair roads, and not for other governmental expenses, is good reason to put your support behind this measure.

Paying $30 a year now will save thousands in the future because the cost to fix streets will skyrocket — and then drivers will really have to pay.

Vote yes on Bremerton Transportation Benefit District Proposition No. 1.