City Council set to let voters decide on Seattle Transportation Benefit District measure that leaves mayor’s full tax bump intact

The Seattle City Council and council president and District 3 representative Joy Hollingsworth are set to finalize the Seattle Transportation Benefit District measure Tuesday leaving the scale of the  Mayor Katie Wilson-championed sales tax bump to pay for “better-than-baseline” bus service on key lines in the city intact as the proposal heads for the November ballot.

Last week in committee, council members wrestled over a roster of amendments including one from Bob Kettle that would have decreased the size of the proposed sales tax increase.

Wilson’s 2026 Seattle Transit Measure renews and expands a citywide 0.30% sales tax over 10 years, generating an estimated $138 million a year to fund roughly 140,000 additional annual Metro bus service hours, improved regional connections, and expanded ORCA pass access. It also allocates dedicated funding for transit security officers, behavioral health specialists, and ADA accessibility infrastructure.

Last week, council members voted to add to the proposal including an amendment prioritizing faster, direct transit service connecting regional centers including Ballard to downtown and light rail stations and another that prioritizes accessibility projects serving people with disabilities, the elderly, and the vision-impaired.

Publicola reported details of two of the more contentious debates in the amendment process. In one of the votes, transportation chair Rob Saka prevailed as his amendment passed on a 7–2 vote, adding transit security officers, behavioral health specialists, and transit cops to the list of allowable expenditures for transit measure funds. Councilmembers Dionne Foster and Alexis Mercedes Rinck voted against the amendment.

An amendment from Kettle that would have reduced the tax rate from the mayor’s 0.30% down to 0.225% failed. Hollingsworth joined the “no” side in the debate.

Seattle voters have strongly supported the sales tax-supported transit program. 80% of Seattle voters approved the increase to $0.15 and the six-year package in 2020, despite the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis.

The full Seattle City Council is scheduled to cast its final vote Tuesday afternoon to place the measure to renew the tax on the upcoming November ballot.

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