The Pasco City Council got its first look Monday at a proposed Capital Improvement Plan that lists nearly $695 million in road, water, park and public facility work the city wants to tackle between 2027 and 2032, but most of that money hasn't been secured yet, according to reporting by the Tri-City Herald.
The plan covers more than 140 individual projects, from a new water treatment plant and an overpass at Road 76 to street repairs, park upgrades and a new softball complex. It's the city's roadmap for the next six years. Approving the plan would not authorize spending a single dollar — it tells city staff which projects to prioritize when they go looking for grants, state money or other funding sources.
What the plan actually does
A Capital Improvement Plan is essentially a wish list with a price tag attached, sorted by priority. Once a project's funding comes together, whether from local dollars, state appropriations or federal grants, the actual construction contract still has to come back to the council for a separate vote, the Herald reported. If the funding doesn't materialize, a project can get pushed further down the schedule year after year.
That's a different process than the federal grant the city has already secured for dangerous street crossing improvements elsewhere in Pasco, money that's already in hand. Most of what's in the new CIP is not.
Where the money would go
Water infrastructure is the single biggest category, at roughly $295.8 million over the six years. Transportation projects — streets, intersections and the Road 76 overpass among them — account for about $219.9 million. Parks and recreation projects, including the proposed softball complex, come in around $70 million. The remaining roughly $109 million covers public facilities and other categories not broken out in the Herald's reporting.
Residents can compare this plan against the city's prior 2023-2028 Capital Improvement Plan, posted on Pasco's Comprehensive and Improvement Plans page, to see which projects carried over, grew more expensive, or dropped off the list entirely. The city also keeps a running Current Park Projects page and a Public Works page where residents can track individual project status outside the CIP document itself.
New sales tax on the table
At the same meeting, council members were also set to discuss how to spend an estimated $2.5 million a year coming in from Pasco's new Transportation Benefit District sales tax, one funding source that could help pay for some of the street projects in the plan. It wasn't clear from Monday's agenda which specific road projects would get first claim on that money, or whether the council gave staff direction on allocating it.
The scale of the plan reflects Pasco's continued growth. A separate analysis from Tri-Cities Business News found the city's explosive growth has cooled somewhat but more development is still coming, adding pressure on water, sewer and road capacity.
The CIP discussion comes as Pasco works through other infrastructure and service changes, including the rollout of curbside organics recycling by 2027.
Monday's session appears to have been a first look rather than a final vote. It's not yet clear when the council plans to formally adopt the plan or which of the 140-plus projects city staff consider top priorities for near-term funding. Residents who want to weigh in or ask about a specific project can contact Pasco Public Works or watch for the CIP's return to a future council agenda.
