|
| |
The Municipal League of King County
Opposes
City of Seattle Proposition 1
Bridging the Gap
November 7, 2006 General Election Ballot
SUMMARY
Seattle’s Bridging the Gap Proposition 1 is sponsored by Mayor Nickels and the City Council.
The levy lid lift is part of a comprehensive funding proposal to address the deteriorating
condition of Seattle’s transportation infrastructure and provide targeted system enhancements.
The funding proposal combines revenues generated from three new taxes: a special property tax,
a commercial parking tax and a business transportation tax. The City Council has already adopted
two of the taxes, the commercial parking tax and the business transportation tax.
Proposition 1 asks Seattle voters to approve the third element of the transportation tax plan.
The ballot measure would lift the property tax levy lid and increase property taxes for transportation
purposes. For taxes levied in 2006 to be collected in 2007, the maximum dollar rate for regular
property taxes will be increased to $3.69 per thousand assessed value, including approximately $0.36
additional taxes. The tax would increase property taxes by roughly 11%. In the first year, the property
tax increase for a $400,000 residential property will be roughly $144. The Proposition prohibits the
use of tax revenues to pay debt service on bonds for major projects, so a larger share of the levy
funding is directed into transportation maintenance and bike and pedestrian improvements. It is
anticipated that the levy will raise roughly $1.6 billion in total funding if the voters approve
all phases of the 20 year plan.
The City Council shortened the term of the levy from 20 years to 9 years. The City has divided
the original 20 year project plan into phases, subject to renewal(s) of the levy. In the short run,
the City will, during the first 9 year phase, repave 360 lane miles, rehab 5 bridges and do 3 to 5
bridge seismic repairs (this is about 80% of what would have been done under the original proposal).
The plan is divided into four categories: (1) $500 million of deferred maintenance, (2) enhanced transit
services, (3) bicycle, pedestrian and safety programs and (4) neighborhood street fund program.
The initial 9 year phase will run from 2007 through 2015 and is limited to $365,000,000 in property tax revenue.
ARGUMENTS FOR THE MEASURE
The proponents of the Bridging the Gap ballot measure made the following arguments for the proposition:
- The City is steward to over 1,500 lane miles of arterial streets, 150 bridges, signs and
sidewalks representing an economic asset of over $8 billion. Most of Seattle’s bridges and
arterials are in need of crucial repairs. Most of Seattle’s 149 bridges were built to last 60
years and the average age of the bridges is now 55 years with 46% in fair or poor condition.
Eight of the City’s bridges have weight restrictions because they no longer meet structural
standards. According to national standards, 29% of the City’s arterials are either in poor or
fair condition. In 2004, the backlog of maintenance work was estimated to cost $500 million.
That estimate has since become larger. All this represents a quiet infrastructure crisis for the City.
- The City needs additional sources of tax revenue. In recent years, court decisions and public
initiatives have restricted the City’s sources of tax revenue to fund transportation. In 1995 the
Washington State Supreme Court declared the City’s residential street utility charge unconstitutional,
reducing City revenue for transportation projects by $13 million per year. In 2002, voters statewide
approved Initiative 776 which eliminated the vehicle license fee, a fee that generated $5 million per
year to the City for transportation purposes. The state shared gas tax revenues for Seattle do not
keep up with inflation due to annexations and incorporations.
- The deteriorating condition of Seattle’s transportation infrastructure requires substantial annual
dedication of resources beyond those currently available.
- The transportation infrastructure is needed now before the Alaskan Way Viaduct project is closed
to traffic, a closure that will put an added strain on various alternative routes in and through the City.
- A citizen’s advisory panel has reviewed the funding required to address the identified maintenance backlog.
If voters renew the funding package for plan’s full 20 year term, then the funding package will maintain
every arterial in the City. Eleven critical bridges will be redone. All bridges will receive seismic retrofits.
- Tax payers will save money by paying for the work now. If the measure is defeated, voters may be faced with
significantly higher replacements costs for transportation infrastructure—infrastructure that could be saved
at lower cost through this remedial maintenance program.
- Property tax is appropriate for road maintenance because roads provide essential services to property owners.
ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE MEASURE
The opponents of the Bridging the Gap ballot measure made the following arguments against the proposition:
- Essential government services, like street maintenance, should not be paid with a special property
tax levy. Citizens believe they have already paid for this essential service and it should not be
added to their tax bill. Levy lid lifts should be used to pay for capital improvements.
- A nine year levy is too long. Government accountability will be impaired because the effectiveness
of the tax will not be revisited for such a long period of time.
- Maintenance of roads and bridges is a top government priority. Funds should be reallocated from
other less important programs. The City government needs to prioritize.
- Allowing the City government to use special property tax levies for essential services creates a dangerous precedent
- The proposal goes far beyond paying for the road and bridge maintenance backlog. It also includes
significant capital improvements.
- This billion tax package may sour the voters’ appetite for more important transportation projects.
The tax proposal needs to be viewed in the context of other more pressing tax proposals including
the Alaskan Way Viaduct project and the SR 520 floating bridge project, as well as the 2007 joint
RTID and Sound Transit funding package. The capital improvement components of this funding package
should wait until after these crucial transportation projects have secured adequate funding.
- The levy lid increase is not needed to pay for the $500 million backlog in deferred maintenance.
The other two components of the comprehensive funding package, the parking tax and the business
transportation tax, provide adequate funding for crucially needed upgrades and repairs to Seattle’s roadways and bridges.
POSITION and RATIONALE
The Trustees of the Municipal League oppose Proposition 1.
The League regrets opposing this ballot measure because it arises from a real road and bridge maintenance
crisis. The City Council should resubmit the core maintenance elements of this proposal to voters at the
earliest moment. While the City Council reworks the ballot measure, the City can use the tax revenues from
the commercial parking tax and the business transportation tax, the other two parts of the transportation tax
plan that the Council has already passed into law. Both of these taxes are bondable, giving the City the
ability to acquire financing proceeds to pay for some of the most pressing road and bridge maintenance projects.
The League recognizes that short term property levies may be needed to perform emergency road maintenance,
but the Council has failed to prioritize the work, simply assuming that the voters will renew the levy for
additional terms to complete the work. Unfortunately, the ballot measure includes non-essential capital improvements.
We are concerned that the special property tax levy, as presented, confronts voters with an extra challenge, a
challenge that will become especially daunting—and perhaps confusing—when viewed in the context of other more
pressing transportation funding measures. Voters will be asked in 2007 to pay for the RTID and Sound Transit
funding package, and for the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement package and the SR 520 floating bridge project.
The non-essential capital improvement elements of the City’s Bridging the Gap measure should wait until after these
vital transportation projects have secured adequate funding.
|
|
