Kettle Proposes Slashing Seattle Transit Measure, Halting City-Funded Bus Service Growth
A proposal from District 7 Councilmember Bob Kettle released Thursday would dramatically scale back the pending renewal to the Seattle Transit Measure (STM) that Mayor Katie Wilson put forward last month. In cutting the measure by a third, Kettle's amendment would put the kibosh on any future King County Metro service growth funded by the City of Seattle, and provide less resources than are needed to sustain the transit measure that's currently in effect today (due to inflation).
Wilson's proposed STM renewal is set to generate around $138 million per year for public transit programs, bumping up an existing 0.15% dedicated sales tax to 0.3% – the maximum amount allowed under a state-authorized transportation benefit district program. It's that proposed rate doubling that's attracted the renewal considerable attention, much more scrutiny than recent sales tax hikes that have occurred without voter approval.
But Wilson has argued that the benefits of additional transit service, which allows many Seattleites to maintain car-free or car-light households, outweigh the costs. Overall, the increase is expected to cost a median two-person household in Seattle, earning $121,000 per year, an additional $29.
Kettle's amendment would shrink the measure to 0.2%, while leaving the remaining 0.1% in sales tax authority able to be tapped directly by the council at a future date – without the need for voter approval. This would reduce the amount of funding set to go to public transit over a 10-year period by nearly a half billion dollars, an amount that translates to 1.1 million lost service hours.
https://www.theurbanist.org/kettle-proposes-slashing-seattle-transit-measure-halting-city-funded-bus-service-growth/
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