Canyon County still faces an estimated $49 million annual shortfall in local road funding after voters on Tuesday rejected a proposed vehicle registration fee. The measure would have charged $20 a year and generated an estimated $4.4 million annually across the county, covering about 9% of the funding gap.
The outcome differed from the vote in neighboring Ada County, where residents elected to retain an existing registration fee. That fee, originally approved in 1990, produces about $14 million each year. Canyon County’s measure would have established a new local charge to help fund road projects, including maintenance that Nampa has deferred.
Nampa Transportation Director Crystal Craig said the city had intended to direct its portion of the proposed revenue toward that maintenance backlog. Residents would have seen the money put into work such as replacing pavement, she said. With the proposal rejected, the fee will not provide the additional money the city had planned to use for those projects.
Several voters interviewed by Idaho News 6 in Nampa said they had favored the proposal. They pointed to a desire for improvements to older roads and for local road agencies to keep pace with growth. Those voters declined to appear on camera.
Nampa has other sources of transportation funding, but restrictions determine which projects some of that money can support. Craig said impact fees collected from new development can help finance improvements such as additional lanes and wider intersections. Under state law, however, those funds cannot be used for routine repaving.
Property taxes provide about $5 million annually for Nampa’s transportation needs, according to Craig. The city has greater flexibility in spending that revenue, but paving costs can absorb a substantial amount. Craig estimated that repaving just one mile of a two-lane city road could cost between $4 million and $5 million.
Federal grants have also supported safety projects and road expansions in Nampa, Craig said. Yet many of those grants are unavailable for the paving maintenance the city has postponed, limiting their usefulness for that work.
Craig said 2028 would be the earliest opportunity to put the registration fee before voters again. An increase in property taxes is another possible source of money, she said, although the city considers that option a last resort.
