Harrell Proposes Modest $1.35 Billion Transportation Levy Renewal

Harrell’s levy proposal heavily emphasizes spending on maintaining the existing transportation system

4 April 2024 /The Urbanist /Ryan Packer--Mayor Bruce Harrell Thursday unveiled a modest renewal package for a transportation levy succeeding 2015’s Levy to Move Seattle, set to expire at the end of this year.

The $1.35 billion proposal would expire in eight years, compared to nine for Move Seattle, increasing the amount of property tax revenues the city would collect on a per-year basis. City officials say the package beats inflation by around 10%, falling well short of a dramatic increase in funding that many transportation advocates argue is the bare minimum that Seattle needs to keep up with basic infrastructure needs in a fast-growing city.

Image Source | (©InfiniteThought | pixabay)

The proposal released Thursday is a draft that will be available for public comment, with the potential for refinements to individual programs and spending priorities possible before the finalized levy ordinance heads to the Seattle City Council sometime in May.

If approved by voters, the renewal — for now just being called Seattle’s “Transportation Levy Proposal” — would allow the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) to continue receiving around 30% of its overall budget via a dedicated property tax levy, as the City faces significant potential budget cuts elsewhere due to a quarter-billion-dollar deficit in the City’s general fund projected for 2025 and increasing in 2026.

Mayor Harrell’s growth strategy in his One Seattle Comprehensive Plan also has some fuzzy edges right now, which may help explain the fluid approach.

SDOT did poll on a hypothetical $1.7 billion levy, as well as an option that only manages to keep up with inflation at $1.2 billion. Both polled well above water and appeared very likely to pass, but the smaller package did enjoy a larger margin. Advocates pushed the City to go bigger at $3 billion focused on pedestrian, bike, and transit projects.

Harrell’s levy proposal heavily emphasizes spending on maintaining the existing transportation system, with $423 million proposed for street repaving and another $218 million on bridge upkeep. An additional $100 million would be spent on upgrading and replacing traffic signals, including adding technology to more directly manage vehicle throughput and signal control, as the city has already done on corridors like Mercer Street and Denny Way.