Bellingham Ballot Measure

The Board of Transportation Benefit District No. 1, Bellingham, Washington, adopted Bellingham TBD No. 1 Resolution #2010-1 concerning a sales and use tax to fund transportation improvements. This proposition would authorize a sales and use tax of up to a two-tenths of one percent (0.002) to be collected from all taxable retail sales within the District in accordance with RCW 82.14.0455 for a term of ten years for the purpose of paying or financing costs of the following transportation projects identified in the City of Bellingham Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP): resurfacing pavement on arterial streets and bicycle lanes, adding non-motorized transportation options and transit service. Should this proposition be approved?

Since vehicle excise taxes were eliminated ten years ago, city transportation projects have competed with, and lost funding to, other city needs. There has never been funding explicitly for pedestrian and bicycle improvements. Proposition #1 corrects this problem.

The Bellingham Transportation Commission unanimously approved the Pedestrian Master Plan approach on September 14 to support a safe walking environment with a continuous network of high-quality urban pedestrian facilities. Proposition #1 will provide funding to implement the plan.

Dozens of excellent pedestrian and bicycle projects listed in our neighborhood and city plans for decades have not been built. These may never get built without approval of Proposition #1. Some projects get done occasionally as part of street repaving, but street maintenance is also significantly underfunded. Proposition #1 solves that problem, too!

All journeys from our homes and businesses start as pedestrian trips. Approximately 60 percent of those journeys become car trips less than three miles long. Nineteen percent are car trips less than one mile long. The Pedestrian Master Plan will identify what projects need to be done to encourage more walking trips. Proposition #1 will fund those critical projects.

The Whatcom Transportation Authority placed a proposition on the ballot this spring to increase the countywide sales tax for bus service. Sixty-five percent of Bellingham’s residents voted “YES,” but the measure was defeated by county voters. The result is that Sunday services for Bellingham residents have been discontinued. Proposition #1 will allow the City’s Transportation Benefit District to contract with WTA to reinstate the discontinued service until WTA’s revenues return to pre-recession levels.

Bellingham is not alone in using the TBD mechanism to support needed transportation repairs and improvements. TBDs offer the most important local transportation tool for Washington cities. TBD enabling legislation went into effect in 2007. Since then, at least ten Washington cities have formed TBDs and enacted at least one of the forms of transportation revenue mechanisms enabled by the legislation.

Other Washington cities are actively considering TBDs and the revenue they provide for basic transportation needs. Seattle is considering a TBD four years after its successful voter approval of a “Bridging the Gap” property tax levy for street maintenance, sidewalks and trails.

The American Planning Association’s “Complete Streets: Best Policy and Implementation Practices” features Seattle’s transportation program. Seattle’s “Bridging the Gap” program three-year progress report released this year highlights 89 lane miles paved, 93 miles of bike lanes, 54 blocks of new sidewalks, 93 intersections with countdown signals, 17 neighborhood projects, 154 school zones and 28,800 new hours of transit service, among many other multi-modal transportation projects.

Bellingham’s Proposition #1 is better than Seattle’s “Bridging the Gap.” It supports the same popular “Complete Streets” approach. The difference is that it uses a sales tax also paid by non-residents, not a property tax paid by just Bellingham residents.

Your “YES” vote on proposition #1 will give the Transportation Benefit District needed revenue for Bellingham transit, walking, cycling, road repaving and safety projects.

Your “YES” vote will provide resources for long-standing priority transportation needs in Bellingham.

Thank you for your support.

Statement prepared by:

Wes Frysztacki, a member of Bellingham’s Transportation Commission and the Committee for the Transportation Benefit District Ballot Proposition. Anyone interested in supporting Proposition #1 is welcome to contact Wes at wfrysztacki@weslin.net.

Many Whatcom Watch readers will likely be predisposed to approve Proposition 1. We would like to urge you to take a moment and consider several reasons why a “No” vote is most prudent for our city at this point.

Those on the record against Proposition 1 represent a broad cross section of our community. Bellingham City Council members Stan Snapp, Barry Buchanan and Gene Knutson all voted against the proposed tax. The Bellingham Police Guild is on the record against it, as is County Executive Pete Kremen and local Democrat Executive Board Member John McGarrity. WTA Union Chief Mark Lowry has spoken out against Proposition 1, and the WTA Board refused to endorse the measure.

The Whatcom Information Center believes Mayor Dan Pike was hasty in proposing $40 million in new spending without considering the broader implications. City Hall must prioritize—especially during tough economic times. The question is whether Proposition 1 is a wise investment when weighed against more important city services:

• The Bellingham Police Guild says staffing is at a critical level. They’re worried that passage of Proposition 1 will hurt their ability next year to pass a ballot measure for enhanced public safety.

• A citizen’s task force will soon release a long-awaited Capital Needs report, which will likely recommend millions of dollars in new spending on critical infrastructure projects.

• The future of the Ambulance system is in doubt. If the current EMS system dissolves, Bellingham residents may have to pay higher taxes to ensure the stability of this life-and-death service.

• There could be another Greenways levy in the future. Passage of Proposition 1 may make people less likely to vote for increased spending on open space and parkland.

WTA supporters are particularly concerned about the passage of the new tax, saying that future countywide support for bus service may be at risk if Bellingham sets up a two-tiered system. They’re worried that Bellingham’s passage of Proposition 1 is a temporary fix that will hurt their ability to go to voters again next year for a long-term solution.

One way to provide funding for important services is to align city medical benefits to the private sector.

Governor Gregoire is negotiating with state unions about increasing employees’ share of medical benefits to 25 percent. In 2006 in Bellingham, the non-partisan Mayor’s Budget Advisory Task Force recommended a similar approach.

The Kaiser Family Foundation, a respected non-profit medical research organization, says that average Americans pay $292 dollars a month out of their own pockets for family medical insurance, yet city staff average just $70. That’s $2,270,000 in annual savings if union members paid the same as average families.

Considering the poor state of the economy and the broader implications of this measure, committing $40 million to less-than-critical needs is simply shortsighted. We should come together as a community and deliberately consider our budget priorities before putting essential city services at risk.

Please vote “NO” on Proposition 1.

Statement perpared by:

Brett Bonner is the  founder of the Whatcom Information Center, a nonpartisan group that focuses on local issues. He is a former award-winning journalist and is the institutional sales director for Saturna Capital in Bellingham.