It would appear state transportation officials are leaving no stone unturned in a far-flung search for new sources of revenue that might help Washington State Ferries better cover its costs.

For now, that includes the prospect of having ferry-served communities share the financial burden of operating boats and maintaining terminals by taxing themselves and putting the revenue they raise into the ferry-funding equation.

Islanders got a preview of solutions that might be in store for WSF when the state Transportation Commission met Thursday in Friday Harbor. Members of the commission, though sympathetic about ever-increasing ferry fares and parking prices at the Anacortes ferry landing, said there’s a lack of resources to satisfy all the state’s transportation needs and that competition is fierce for a slice of that transportation pie.

Commission Chairman Dan O’Neal added that without some change in the state’s revenue-gathering formula, only about half the investment that’s called for in the state’s 20-year transportation plan will be available.

“We’re $38 billion short in meeting the objectives of the state,” O’Neal said. “So, we have to set priorities.”

A combination of soaring fuel prices and rising labor costs have, in large part, been blamed for WSF’s recent operational-budget shortfall, about $20 million a year.

WSF generates roughly $160 million a year, or 68 percent of its operational costs, through ticket sales. But the loss of the state motor-vehicle excise tax, which resulted after voters approved Initiative 695, also eliminated $52 million in annual revenue — about 10 percent of the 1999 operating budget — for ferry operations and terminal maintenance.

WSF’s capital budget, which pays primarily for new boats and terminal replacements, took an even larger hit; about $225 million, or 80 percent of the 1997-99 two-year capital budget.

Roughly $42 million in new revenue would be generated every two years if all eight ferry-served counties were to place a 1 cent tax on fuel, according to a recent, though still unfinished, study by Cambridge Systematics. About $150 million would be raised if all eight boosted their respective sales tax by 1/10th of a percent, according to the study.

The creation of so-called transportation benefit districts, which are able to sell bonds, levy certain types of taxes and pursue grants, is also noted in the study as a potential new source of local funding. Counties and cities can either join forces or go it alone, and can establish TBDs with limited boundaries.

Commissioner Carol Moser, a former Richland City Council member, said that the Tri-Cities area has reaped benefits from such a district. Because of its ability to bond, a TBD can also qualify for federal transportation funds with 20-percent local matching funds.

Known as the long-term ferry funding study, the Cambridge report was financed by the Legislature as part of its ferry financing legislation approved in 2007. That study, along with a survey of ferry riders conducted this year, is expected to guide the transportation commission in finding a remedy for the chronically cash-strapped ferry system.

Though the number of taxing tools available to cities and counties are many, Orcas Island’s Bob Distler, one of the commission’s seven members, knows it would be a tough sell.

“If you use the ‘T’ word,” Distler said, “legislators on both sides of the state run from you.”

At one time, many argued that a reservation system would be a tough sell. But according to the survey, conducted by Opinion Research Northwest, which polled 13,000 riders and 1,240 Puget Sound residents by phone, a reservation system is gaining favor, among summer ferry riders in particular.

Two out of five riders would be willing to pay a fee for a reservation. And some drivers, according to the survey, would be willing to pay as much as 20 percent over the ticket price to reserve a space.

Commission Chairman Dan O’Neal added that without some change in the state’s revenue-gathering formula, only about half the investment that’s called for in the state’s 20-year transportation plan will be available.

“We’re $38 billion short in meeting the objectives of the state,” O’Neal said. “So, we have to set priorities.”

A combination of soaring fuel prices and rising labor costs have, in large part, been blamed for WSF’s recent operational-budget shortfall, about $20 million a year.

WSF generates roughly $160 million a year, or 68 percent of its operational costs, through ticket sales. But the loss of the state motor-vehicle excise tax, which resulted after voters approved Initiative 695, also eliminated $52 million in annual revenue — about 10 percent of the 1999 operating budget — for ferry operations and terminal maintenance.

WSF’s capital budget, which pays primarily for new boats and terminal replacements, took an even larger hit; about $225 million, or 80 percent of the 1997-99 two-year capital budget.

Roughly $42 million in new revenue would be generated every two years if all eight ferry-served counties were to place a 1 cent tax on fuel, according to a recent, though still unfinished, study by Cambridge Systematics. About $150 million would be raised if all eight boosted their respective sales tax by 1/10th of a percent, according to the study.

The creation of so-called transportation benefit districts, which are able to sell bonds, levy certain types of taxes and pursue grants, is also noted in the study as a potential new source of local funding. Counties and cities can either join forces or go it alone, and can establish TBDs with limited boundaries.

Commissioner Carol Moser, a former Richland City Council member, said that the Tri-Cities area has reaped benefits from such a district. Because of its ability to bond, a TBD can also qualify for federal transportation funds with 20-percent local matching funds.

Known as the long-term ferry funding study, the Cambridge report was financed by the Legislature as part of its ferry financing legislation approved in 2007. That study, along with a survey of ferry riders conducted this year, is expected to guide the transportation commission in finding a remedy for the chronically cash-strapped ferry system.

Though the number of taxing tools available to cities and counties are many, Orcas Island’s Bob Distler, one of the commission’s seven members, knows it would be a tough sell.

“If you use the ‘T’ word,” Distler said, “legislators on both sides of the state run from you.”

At one time, many argued that a reservation system would be a tough sell. But according to the survey, conducted by Opinion Research Northwest, which polled 13,000 riders and 1,240 Puget Sound residents by phone, a reservation system is gaining favor, among summer ferry riders in particular.

Two out of five riders would be willing to pay a fee for a reservation. And some drivers, according to the survey, would be willing to pay as much as 20 percent over the ticket price to reserve a space.