(Image: King County)
The King County Transportation District board is holding off on a plan that would bump up sales tax to pay for county roads, bridges, and safety improvements outside its cities.
At its Thursday session, the debate by King County Council members that represent the district was vigorous over adding to the tax burden in cities like Seattle and Bellevue for road spending across the county. If approved, the 0.1% countywide sales tax increase would push Seattle’s rate to 10.65%.
Officials say they have run out of money for county roads:
King County’s Roads Division manages roughly 1,500 miles of roads and 188 bridges in unincorporated King County, connecting cities and communities and providing access to trails and natural areas, but has been running at a deficit since well before the King County Bridges and Roads Taskforce in 2016 recommended a series of policy and fiscal strategies to sustainably maintain and preserve the unincorporated network. Some portions of roads are now closed with no plan to reopen them. Without additional investment in the next biennium, the Roads Division’s dedicated revenue will be insufficient to maintain basic services, respond to flooding, or address other unforeseen needs.
In a statement on Thursday’s delay in a decision on the sales tax bump, council officials said “a key unresolved issue is whether or not a portion of new revenue would go directly to the 39 cities and towns in King County.”
“City representatives pointed out that most of the revenue from sales tax is generated in cities, and those jurisdictions have needs for investing in their transportation systems as well,” the announcement reads.
“During the meeting, KCTD Supervisors considered various percentages of this kind of ‘pass-through’ revenue to cities – ranging from 12.5% to 25% but ultimately couldn’t agree on the issue,” according to the update.
The group will now set about negotiating “a new proposal that would meet the various interests of both unincorporated and incorporated areas,” according to the statement.
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