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WHEREAS, the City is also joined in this effort by The Boeing Co., which houses <br /> about 1/3 of its entire Puget Sound work force at its Everett plant and uses this plant as <br /> a center for engineering and R&D expertise along with manufacturing 747, 767, and <br /> 777 jet airplanes; and <br /> WHEREAS, the City of Everett and its City Council believe that in order to properly <br /> address this transportation funding problem, all options need to be considered, <br /> including an increase in the gas tax; and <br /> WHEREAS, illustrating the need for additional transportation revenues at the state <br /> level is Everett's own 6-year Transportation Improvement Plan, one which calls for <br /> $374 million worth of projects; and <br /> WHEREAS, to undertake these projects, the City portion of the gas tax throughout the <br /> 1990's has remained relatively constant, due to factors such as higher fuel efficiency in <br /> automobiles and more incorporated cities and agencies splitting up existing gas tax <br /> revenues; and <br /> WHEREAS, the gas tax also is neither indexed for inflationary factors nor placed <br /> under population and growth factors associated with the Initiative 601 guidance to the <br /> general fund, meaning that a gas tax which could have been 37 cents or more under <br /> these factors remains at 23 cents; and <br /> WHEREAS, the Washington State Department of Transportation's portion of the 5- <br /> cent gas tax increase in 1990 has been absorbed by inflation and no longer will allow <br /> the State Department of Transportation to construct new projects but rather will force <br /> the agency's status-quo budget to focus almost exclusively on maintenance and <br /> preservation; and <br /> WHEREAS, the City's ability to obtain federal funding for transportation needs also is <br /> becoming more difficult, due to the uncertainty over the future of ISTEA (Intermodal <br /> Surface Transportation Efficiency Act) program. <br /> NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Everett does hereby declare: <br /> 1. That it considers an increase in transportation funding its top priority at the state <br /> level. <br /> 2. That such a transportation funding package must consist of strong consideration of <br /> all options, including an increase in the gas tax, in order to make the package <br /> significant and real. <br /> 3. That additional efficiencies within the State Department of Transportation, <br /> redistributing the additional dollars captured through fuel-tax evasion crackdowns, <br /> 2 <br />