Bellingham voters can choose to extend this sales tax on election day
Bellingham voters will have the chance to extend a decade-long 0.2% sales tax funding local transportation improvement projects on election day Nov. 3.
The Transportation Fund, previously known as the Transportation Benefit District, has brought in about $5 million in revenue each year since 2010 when 58% of voters first approved the sales tax, according to an July 6 City Council presentation.
The 2010 measure formed a special taxing district that the city absorbed in 2015. Since 2011, the funding has allowed the city to create or improve 52 miles of bikeways, repair or maintain 46 miles of streets and improve 9 miles of sidewalks and 40 crossings, according to a city website about the fund.
The renewed tax would fund similar projects such as pavement resurfacing, and non-motorized improvements focused on sidewalks, crossings and bike lanes. Additionally, the tax would support a Climate Action Plan aimed at reducing transportation emissions and improvements to the Whatcom Transportation Authority bus services.
Ballots for the general election were mailed Wednesday, Oct. 14, and should be in homes by Wednesday, Oct. 21. The U.S. Postal Service recommends mailing your ballot back by Tuesday, Oct. 27. Local drop boxes remain open for ballots up to 8 p.m. election day. If you use one of the drop boxes, Whatcom County Auditor Diana Bradrick recommends delivering your ballot by Monday, Nov. 2, to avoid lines on election evening.
Stable funding source
Chris Comeau, a transportation planner for Bellingham Public Works, said this tax has provided a stable source of funding for transportation projects while federal and state grant funding has been volatile.
The stability of this fund gains even more importance as the state cuts back on grants due to falling tax revenue amid the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn, Comeau added.
“We’re getting hit in multiple ways and the revenue streams are way down across the board,” Comeau said. “The reality is also we don’t know when it’s going to end, and our crystal ball isn’t any better than yours.”
The city adopted a six-year Transportation Improvement Plan in June that in many cases assumes the tax will be extended.
If the tax is not extended, then the city would have to decrease the number of projects it works on over the next several years, said city engineer and assistant director of public works Chad Schulhauser.
“Everything from 2022 and out that are Transportation Fund-funded projects would see a serious decline,” Schulhauser said. “Now, whether they would be outright canceled, or reorganized or postponed, I can’t say right now.”
Even if the tax is renewed, the city will likely see some reduction in projects because of declining revenue from gas and sales taxes that help fund transportation grants and projects. With this in mind, Schulhauser said Public Works has planned for a 15% loss from 2021 to 2022
“This is a sales tax so everyone, whether they live in Bellingham or not, are contributing to this,” Schulhauser said. “That’s why the Canadian traffic across the border is so important, because that’s a major sales tax provider in the city of Bellingham.”
Improvements made
The city still has progress to be made on several active transportation plans, according to its annually published progress reports.
The Pedestrian Master Plan, which the city adopted in 2012, envisions a 258-mile pedestrian network. So far, the city has completed about 162 miles, or 63%, of the plan. Meanwhile, the Bicycle Master Plan from 2014 has completed about 87 miles, or 53%, of its planned 164-mile bicycle network.
“Sidewalks are always incredibly expensive to construct because they are always new infrastructure as opposed to bicycle infrastructure which is just on the street and already in place and sometimes just reallocating space,” Comeau said at the July 6 City Council Meeting.
Both plans have prioritized projects in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, Comeau said. Among Transportation Benefit District-funded projects, the city completed 69% of its pedestrian improvements and 75.7% of its bikeway improvements in lower-income neighborhoods since 2011, according to Comeau’s presentation at the meeting.
According to its six-year plan going forward, the city aims to continue progress on sidewalk and bikeway improvements. Additionally, the plan lists a project to support the Climate Action Plan and Whatcom Transportation Authority Plan.
For 2021, the city has programmed citywide electrical vehicle charging station improvements and cooperation with the Whatcom Transportation Authority on its long-range transit plan.
Comeau added some of the programmed project for the Climate Action Plan and Whatcom Transportation Authority Plan are yet to be determined but they nonetheless assume the Transportation Fund passes Nov. 3.
Support for sales tax
The Transportation Fund is being backed by a campaign called the Neighbors for Bellingham Transportation Fund and has been endorsed by several local organizations.
The campaign has gathered at least $13,000 in contributions and taken on a $3,000 loan to support the proposition, according to the Washington Public Disclosure Commission. While the campaign has submitted an argument for the proposition that can be found on the official voter guide, no one has issued an argument against it.
Therese Kelliher, co-chair for the campaign, said they support the Transportation Fund because they see it as an investment in the community benefiting public safety and the economy.
“First and primarily, we are investing in jobs that do the work of repaving the streets and building the sidewalks,” Kelliher said. “And I think a really great part of that is that those jobs are local... (and) every time a sidewalk or a corner curb ramp is built, our neighbors who use a wheelchair or walker or even a stroller, they can get across.”
Kelliher said the campaign started with people who originally supported the fund a decade ago and has grown with the help of people who have come to appreciate the improvements over time.
So far, the proposition has been endorsed by several public officials including Mayor Seth Fleetwood and former mayors Tim Douglas and Kelli Linville. Six Bellingham City Council members who were present during a Monday, Oct. 12, meeting also approved a resolution supporting the renewal of the Transportation Fund, according to an official meeting summary.
Organizations that have backed the proposal include the 42nd Legislative District Democrats, the Downtown Bellingham Partnership, the Opportunity Council, Peace Health and more. A full list of endorsements can be found on the campaign website.
Kelliher said she hopes voters remember to take Proposition 2020-14 seriously despite its placement toward the end of the ballot.
“This is going to be at the very end and it’s going to have a very boring name,” Kelliher said. “That’s what people have to look for and it’s a great thing to be able to let people know that every vote, every ballot or every race along the way makes a difference, especially locally.”
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREMore local voter information
For more information on the Nov. 3 general election, The Bellingham Herald’s 2020 Voter Guide can help.
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If you’re not yet registered to vote, the deadline to register online or through the mail is Oct. 26. If you miss that date, you can still register in-person at a polling place through Election Day. If you’re unsure about your registration status, you can check on it by visiting the Washington Secretary of State’s website.
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