Not much new was said by Issaquah Mayor Fred Butler in his State of the City address Monday. From the Central Issaquah Plan, to the increasing business and operations tax, to Olde Town’s preservation, tourism promotion, transportation issues and the obligatory tributes to community pride, the talking points were nothing that hadn’t been repeated many times in the past year — some of them frequently in the first month of the new year alone.

But Monday’s speech marked the first time since the council began discussing transportation concurrency reform that a city official appealed directly to citizens to think about funding for transportation.

Butler’s comments came in the midst of his address, after he had listed off the city’s accomplishments in reforming its transportation concurrency plan, obtaining $18 million in state grants and crafting a mobility master plan that will affect the arterials for drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians alike.

“Let me be clear: These investments will require broad support from the community to be successful,” Butler said. “It is the shared responsibility of government, businesses and citizens to invest in our future.”

The mayor did not name specific funding mechanisms the city might put before citizens, but he, council, staff and consultants discussed several during talks on transportation concurrency.

The Growth Management Act requirement doesn’t call for cities to estimate future transportation costs — just to have a plan for mitigating future traffic from development — but the city found itself in a unique position due to its work on the 2012 Central Issaquah Plan. From that plan, city development services staff were able to estimate a $119 million shortfall in accounted funds to pay for traffic improvements.

Consultant Randy Young, speaking at a Dec. 8 work session, suggested new sales taxes, road levies, property tax-funded bonds and local car tab fees — many of which would require voter approval — as sources of revenue to cover the gap.

On the subject of Central Issaquah, Butler reaffirmed the city’s commitment to transforming the area into an urban village.

“We have redefined the way Issaquah will grow in the decades ahead,” Butler said. “Up, not out; compact, not sprawling; and more reliant on our feet, not on our cars.”

He also used his address to highlight the impending addition of a social sustainability coordinator to city staff, tasked with spearheading the city’s human services strategy.

“Our community, like cities throughout the Puget Sound region and the nation, is not immune to the challenges of homelessness, substance abuse and mental illness,” Butler said. “Despite these challenges, Issaquah is a safe community that respects the dignity, rights and safety of everyone.”