King County, home to Seattle, will wait to ask voters to approve a 0.2% sales tax for funding transit until a time both when transit use is higher, and people aren’t facing waves of sudden unemployment.
Doug Trumm reports that the King County Council will no longer hold an August vote on a proposed a transit package ballot measure. “Since the measure was to be funded by a 0.2% sales tax, there was a fear it would exacerbate economic hardship from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak,” according to Trumm.
“Leaders also worried the countywide measure wouldn’t pass,” according to Trumm, as social distancing is implemented by many in the county, and as unemployment spikes.
Just a few weeks ago, the county announced a “transit investment concepts for a countywide ballot measure,” according to a March 4 article by Trumm. “The measure could jumpstart King County Metro’s efforts to electrify its fleet or it could focus on expanding conventional transit service. Either way, at $160 million per year, it would be a significant new revenue source for transit.”
It’s possible that Seattle could take up a similar cause for a citywide effort without the county, but for the time being, the political calculus is likely to be the same for the city as it is for the county--though Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan did recently indicate a willingness to go it alone on the issue.
FULL STORY: King County Council Shelves Transit Ballot Measure Plans Amid Coronavirus Worries
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