PRTPO finds funding appropriated for regional transportation planning is inadequate to fulfill existing RTPO responsibilities and supports efforts to increase base funding to $11.7 million per biennium. This will ensure every RTPO receives at least $400,000 per biennium to fulfill core requirements, with some receiving much more due to their size or complexity.

RTPO requirements increased while budgets stayed flat

RTPOs facilitate transportation decision-making between local and state agencies. RTPOs were established in 1990 as a part of the Growth Management Act, to coordinate transportation policies, ensure consistency of the investments made by state and local agencies, and facilitate cooperative decision-making. Each RTPO board is an intergovernmental body made up of representatives from the cities, counties, tribes, transit agencies, ports, and WSDOT’s office in each region.
RTPOs are funded by an appropriation from the Legislature and administered by WSDOT. RTPO Executive Boards use this funding to pay for staff and administrative support necessary to carry out their required work programs.
Appropriated funds are inadequate to carry out required work. The state’s 17 RTPOs are appropriated $4.9 million per biennium; this is nearly unchanged since 2004. In that same time delegated responsibilities have increased, the number of RTPOs has grown by two, and inflation has eroded the buying power of the dollar. Current levels of RTPO funding support anywhere from 0.2 to 0.4 FTE in all but one region. This is particularly hard for rural regions because they do not receive federal planning funds like urban regions do.

PRTPO Affirms the need and supports funding increase

The PRTPO Executive Board began examining this funding issue in 2023 and supported early efforts of the statewide MPO-RTPO group to increase base funding. In 2024, Board members conducted their own investigation into the history of statewide RTPO funding from the Legislature, PRTPO’s costs of complying with state RTPO requirements, and assessing the minimum base level of funding needed to fulfill its legislated responsibilities. The PRTPO Executive Board engaged board members from other regions to validate its findings. PRTPO concluded that an increase of $6.8 million in funding is necessary to ensure every RTPO receives a minimum of $400,000 per biennium, sufficient to fund at least one staff and the overhead costs associated with being an RTPO. Without staff, PRTPO’s Executive Board cannot fulfill its state mandated requirements as an RTPO nor carry out its responsibilities as a regional partner.

State MPO-RTPO Group Rallies to increase base funding

Representatives of the state’s 17 RTPOs agree that an increase in the base funding to maintain regional transportation planning should be increased from $4.9 million to $11.7 million per biennium, adjusted periodically for inflation. This increase of $6.8 million should be divided evenly between the 17 RTPOs. This will enable every RTPO in the state to fund at least one staff position to carry out its work program, even in rural regions. Without staff, RTPO boards cannot conduct any planning. Inadequate funding means that important voices are absent from WSDOT planning processes, regions are unable to provide input to WSDOT and others on transportation funding and policy decisions, and RTPO members don’t have the opportunity for coordination and cooperation spelled out in state law.