Title
A RESOLUTION of the King County transportation district, fixing and imposing a one-tenth of one percent sales and use tax within the boundaries of the district to finance transportation improvements, as authorized by RCW 36.73.040, 36.73.065, and 82.14.0455.
Body
WHEREAS, chapter 36.73 RCW authorizes counties to establish transportation benefit districts for the purpose of acquiring, constructing, improving, providing, and funding transportation improvements, as defined in RCW 36.73.015, within the district, and
WHEREAS, Ordinance 17746 established the King County transportation district with the authority to fund, acquire, construct, operate, improve, provide, maintain, and preserve certain transportation improvements, defined in the ordinance to include specified categories of projects or programs contained in the transportation plan of the Puget Sound Regional Council, King County, or a city within King County, and
WHEREAS, the King County council is the governing board of the transportation district, acting in an ex officio and independent capacity, with the authority to exercise the statutory power in chapter 36.73 RCW, and
WHEREAS, the geographical boundaries of the King County transportation district are coterminous with the boundaries of King County, and
WHEREAS, RCW 36.73.065 authorizes the district to fix and impose up to a one-tenth of one percent sales and use tax for up to ten years within the district in accordance with RCW 82.14.0455 upon a majority vote of the governing body of the district for the purpose of financing transportation improvements of the district, and
WHEREAS, the King County transportation district may be assumed by King County in accordance with chapter 36.74 RCW, and
WHEREAS, the King County road services division of the department of local services manages approximately one thousand five hundred miles of roads, one hundred ninety-three bridges, more than three million linear feet of drainage pipe, more than twenty-eight thousand culverts, more than seven hundred crosswalks, and two hundred seventy-five miles of sidewalk in the county's unincorporated areas outside of cities, and WHEREAS, roads in unincorporated King County support more than one million trips every day, including people traveling to work, school, and recreation, businesses, farmers delivering goods and services, and emergency responders reaching people who need assistance, and
WHEREAS, the 2014 Strategic Plan for Road Services indicated that a structural funding crisis caused by a combination of municipal annexations, state limitations on available revenue options, and aging infrastructure, meant that the King County road services division was able to collect less than half the revenue it needed each year to maintain the existing road system in unincorporated King County, and
WHEREAS, the 2023-2024 business plan developed by the King County road services division indicates that the structural funding crisis, which has not been addressed during the last decade, means that dedicated funding for capital projects will be exhausted in 2029, significantly constraining King County's capacity to maintain, improve, and replace aging and failed components of the road system, and
WHEREAS, aging infrastructure and inadequately maintained facilities have resulted in a road network that is in decline and at risk of failure, and without sufficient funding King County will be unable to maintain the existing road system, respond to emergency situations, and provide for safe and efficient travel for road users, and
WHEREAS, among the priorities for the King County road services division are roadway preservation projects to maintain pavement conditions, recovery from flooding and severe weather such as the event that occurred during December 2025, drainage preservation projects to protect road users and existing roadway structures by eliminating failed or failing drainage systems, culvert replacement projects to promote fish passage and complement King County's collaboration with Tribal governments' salmon recovery efforts, improving county roadways sharing connection points with municipalities which are integral to regional mobility, short span timber bridge replacement projects to replace the forty-four aging timber bridges that are less than twenty feet long and are therefore not eligible for federal funding, intersection improvement projects to improve roadway safety for road users, snow and ice removal during inclement weather, and ongoing maintenance of roads, bridges, drainage pipe, culverts, crosswalks, and sidewalks, and
WHEREAS, the transportation improvements provided and maintained by the King County road services division are eligible, under chapter 36.73 RCW and Ordinance 17746, to be paid for with revenues imposed by the King County transportation district within the boundaries of the district for transportation improvements, and
WHEREAS, given the need for additional revenues to acquire, construct, operate, improve, provide, maintain, and preserve the road network in unincorporated King County, it is appropriate for and in the best interests of the district to authorize funding for transportation improvements to support the unincorporated area road network, and
WHEREAS, cities within the King County transportation district face significant and growing transportation infrastructure needs, including for the maintenance and preservation of local roads, safety improvements, multimodal access, and projects that support economic development and housing growth, and most cities lack sufficient revenue tools to meet these needs, particularly as costs escalate and existing funding sources remain constrained, and
WHEREAS, investments in city transportation systems are essential to maintaining a safe, reliable, and connected regional transportation network, as city streets and facilities serve as critical links for residents, workers, goods movement, and access to transit services, and
WHEREAS, the King County transportation district intends to establish a City Transportation Improvement Program to distribute revenues from the one-tenth of one percent sales and use tax authorized by this resolution to cities within the King County transportation district ("CTIP revenues") for transportation improvements authorized by chapter 36.73 RCW, consistent with the requirements described in this resolution, and
WHEREAS, the transportation improvements supported by CTIP revenues are intended to further the King County transportation district transportation plan, which includes working with local jurisdictions to spur infrastructure investments that enhance safe, equitable, and accessible opportunities for transit, pedestrians, bicyclists, carpools and vanpools, and other alternatives to single-occupant vehicles, and
WHEREAS, transportation improvements supported by CTIP revenues are intended to contribute to the King County transportation district transportation plan, including better integration with city, county, and regional transportation systems, and
WHEREAS, transportation improvements supported by CTIP revenues are intended to improve mobility, enhance transit access, reduce congestion, and support regional transportation and environmental goals, including reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and, by doing so, further the goals of the King County transportation district transportation plan, and
WHEREAS, King County's Metro transit department, which is the largest public transportation agency in the Puget Sound region, providing public transit services throughout King County, faces financial challenges due both to increasing costs and the goal to expand transit service to meet the needs of King County's growing population, and
WHEREAS, Ordinance 17746, Section 5, specifies that the King County transportation district can fund, among other things: the provision of Metro transit department public transportation services; service planning and public engagement for the provision of Metro transit department public transportation services; the operation, maintenance, and repair of Metro transit department vehicles, equipment, and facilities; the acquisition and replacement of Metro transit department vehicles and equipment; and the implementation of transportation demand management programs, and
WHEREAS, in 2025, the Metro transit department served nearly ninety million riders through nearly eleven thousand five hundred bus trips each weekday, and
WHEREAS, the Metro transit department works to provide safe, clean, and reliable transit services that meet community needs and operate in a fiscally responsible manner, including responding to the changing ridership and workforce patterns of the post-pandemic years, and
WHEREAS, King County is continuing to grow, with a projected population of approximately three million by 2050, and
WHEREAS, the Metro Connects long-range plan, which was adopted in 2021 by Ordinance 19367, outlines a vision for responding to population growth and increased transportation needs through an expanded public transit network that could serve up to 200 million riders each year by 2050 by providing the transit services, fleet, and supporting capital infrastructure needed to accommodate regionally forecasted growth throughout King County, and
WHEREAS, the King County Metro Service Guidelines, which were adopted in 2021 by Ordinance 19367, provide the criteria and methodology to develop, modify, and evaluate transit services to achieve the goals set in Metro Connects, based on the performance of each transit route and the needs of the communities the Metro transit department serves, and
WHEREAS, the Metro Connects long-range plan is not fully funded, with additional funding needed to provide expanded transit services and the capital investments, such as fleet and street improvements, needed to support that service, and
WHEREAS, because of the rising costs of providing service, as well as changes made to the sales and use tax by the Washington state Legislature, the Metro transit department is projecting a shortfall in its reserve levels beginning in the 2030-2031 biennium, and
WHEREAS, providing safe, clean, and reliable transit services that meet community needs and operate in a fiscally responsible manner will require additional resources, and
WHEREAS, consistent with Ordinance 17746, Section 5, King County transportation district revenues may be used to fund certain public transportation and mobility services provided by the Metro transit department within the boundaries of the district, and
WHEREAS, given the need for additional revenues to fund, acquire, construct, operate, improve, provide, maintain, and preserve public transportation provided by the Metro transit department within the boundaries of the King County transportation district, including the transportation and planning services, programs, vehicles, equipment, facilities, and capital improvements identified in Ordinance 17746, Section 5, it is the intention of the board of supervisors of the King County transportation district to address transit funding needs in the future, including by deliberating a proposal and drafting legislation during 2026 for consideration for future transit funding;
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF THE KING COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT:
SECTION 1. Imposition of sales and use tax.
A. The board of supervisors of the King County transportation district imposes a sales and use tax of one-tenth of one percent under RCW 36.73.040(3)(a), 36.73.065(4)(a)(v), and 82.14.0455, to raise revenue to pay for transportation improvements.
B. The sales and use tax shall be imposed for ten years.
C. The sales and use tax shall be in addition to any other taxes authorized by other jurisdictions and shall be collected from those persons who are taxable by the state under chapters 82.08 and 82.12 RCW, as amended, upon the occurrence of any taxable event within the King County transportation district's boundaries, which are the geographic boundaries of King County.
D. Sales of lodging are exempt from the sales and use tax imposed by section 1 of this resolution if, but for the exemption, the total sales tax rate imposed on such sales of lodging would exceed the greater of:
1. Twelve percent; or
2. The total sales tax rate that would have applied to the sale of lodging if the sale were made on December 1, 2000.
SECTION 2. Distribution of revenues.
A. The sales and use tax imposed in section 1 of this resolution shall first pay any administrative costs incurred by the King County transportation district, not otherwise accounted for in section 3 of this resolution, including for any administrative costs to the state Department of Revenue not to exceed two percent of the taxes collected as required by RCW 82.14.050.
B. Annually, after deducting for the administrative costs described in section 2.A. of this resolution, twelve and a half percent of the remaining sales and use tax revenues shall be allocated to the City Transportation Improvement Program ("the CTIP") for distribution to receiving cities within the boundaries of the King County transportation district, as set forth in section 3 of this resolution. A portion of the CTIP revenues may be retained by the King County transportation district for reimbursement of its administration costs for running the CTIP, including program distribution, reporting, compliance, and oversight activities.
C. The remaining revenues shall be distributed to the King County road services division to implement the transportation improvements described in section 4 of this resolution.
SECTION 3. Use of revenues by cities and description of authorized transportation improvements.
A. Before distributing revenues from the one-tenth of one percent sales and use tax authorized by this resolution to cities within the King County transportation district ("CTIP revenues"), the King County transportation district, or its successor entity, shall develop the administrative and reporting procedures that the cities desiring to receive a distribution must follow ("the receiving cities"), including a standardized interlocal agreement that each receiving city must execute, without modification except as authorized by the district, before receiving any CTIP revenues.
B.1. Each receiving city shall receive a minimum annual allocation of ten thousand dollars from the CTIP revenues authorized under section 2.B. of this resolution.
2. After deducting administrative expenses under section 2.B. of this resolution and minimum allocations required under subsection B.1. of this section, the remaining CTIP revenues shall be distributed in proportion to each receiving city's population relative to the total population of all receiving cities, subject to this section.
3. After applying section 3.B.1. through 2. of this resolution, the annual distribution of a receiving city, which created a tax increment area under RCW 39.114.020(1)(c)(ii) ("TIA city"), will be reduced by an amount equal to the apportioned property tax revenues the TIA city would otherwise be eligible to receive from King County under Ordinance 20061, Section 1.A and 1.B, but for this resolution. The resulting difference shall then be distributed to the King County department of local services, road services division, for uses under section 4 of this resolution.
4. If the district determines, in accordance with its administrative procedures, that a receiving city is unable to timely encumber or expend the city's CTIP revenues for eligible transportation purposes, these revenues may:
a. be redistributed among other receiving cities with eligible project capacity as determined by the district; or
b. be distributed to the King County road services division for eligible county road projects.
C. Beginning in 2027 and each year thereafter, by March 1, each city shall provide written notice to the district stating whether the city will be participating in the CTIP or not. The CTIP distribution to a city that either affirmatively declines to participate or fails to provide the written notice shall be distributed to the King County road services division for eligible county road projects.
D. A city that chooses to receive CTIP revenues must expend its received CTIP revenues on projects or programs contained in a transportation plan, as defined in section 7 of this resolution, and satisfy the requirements of Ordinance 17746, Section 5.B.5. through 9. The transportation improvement projects should also:
1. Enhance access to or connectivity with King County road infrastructure;
2. Provide a regional or systemwide transportation benefit;
3. Improve access to regional transit systems and multimodal transportation networks;
4. Advance adopted regional transportation priorities, mobility goals, or transportation plans; and
5. Be project-ready and capable of timely implementation.
E. The transportation improvements to be carried out with the CTIP revenues shall be needed by existing or reasonably foreseeable congestion levels; and selection of the transportation improvements by a receiving city shall, to the extent practicable, consider the criteria in RCW 36.73.020 in selecting its projects.
F. Any transportation improvement to which such revenues are used shall be owned by the receiving city.
SECTION 4. Use of revenues by King County and description of authorized transportation improvements.
A. The sales and use tax revenues, less the administrative costs identified in section 2.A. of this resolution, shall be used by the district consistent with chapter 36.73 RCW, Ordinance 17746, and this resolution to pay for transportation improvements permitted under that authority, including but not limited to, the acquisition, construction, operation, improvement, provision, maintenance, and preservation of public transportation facilities, services, programs, and roads.
B. Revenues distributed to the King County road services division shall be used to acquire, invest in, construct, improve, provide, operate, preserve, maintain, or pay for transportation improvements focused on the following high priority road and bridge needs:
1. Addressing maintenance, repairs, improvements, and replacements as necessary to keep roads and bridges open and functional to meet increasing needs;
2. Preserving essential county safety and preservation programs, including pedestrian and bicyclist access and safety; and
3. Reducing barriers to accessibility and implementing improvement projects such as sidewalks, curb ramps, and street crossings in alignment with the 2021 King County Road Services Division Americans with Disabilities Act Transition Plan.
C. Revenues distributed to the King County road services division may also be used to acquire, invest in, construct, improve, provide, operate, preserve, maintain, or pay for transportation improvements focused on the following road and bridge needs:
1. Repairing and restoring road network assets damaged by flooding, severe weather, or natural disasters such as the historic flooding experienced in December 2025;
2. Preserving necessary levels of operations and maintenance, including health and safety of employees;
3. Implementing pavement preservation projects to extend the life of existing roadways and reduce long-term costs;
4. Collaborating with municipalities to address orphan roads and improve county roadways within designated Potential Annexation Areas, as well as those county roadways integral to regional mobility;
5. Restoring cuts made to the road services division approved in the 2026-2027 biennial budget;
6. Implementing intersection safety projects;
7. Developing a coordinated safety action plan using the Safe System approach and implementing projects identified in the plan to reduce traffic deaths and serious injuries on county roadways;
8. Implementing bridge load upgrade program projects; and
9. Providing local matching moneys to leverage grant opportunities.
SECTION 5. Ability to apply sales and use tax revenues to pay bonds. To carry out the purposes of this resolution, the district may pledge or apply the sales and use tax revenues to the payment of and interest on general obligation indebtedness issued by King County within the limitations as now existing or hereafter prescribed by the laws of this state.
SECTION 6. Accountability.
A. At the end of the sixth year of sales and use tax collections under this resolution, the board of supervisors of the King County transportation district, or its successor entity, shall review the projects and programs for consistency with the requirements and objectives of this resolution. To inform the review, the road services division shall identify and evaluate projects implemented with the sales and use tax revenues and electronically file a letter to provide that information by October 31 of each year, to the clerk of the council, who shall retain an electronic copy and provide an electronic copy to the King County transportation district, or its successor entity, all councilmembers, and the council chief of staff.
B. Beginning one year after a city receives CTIP revenues, and annually thereafter, each receiving city shall comply with any accountability, reporting, and review requirements established in the district’s administrative procedures and by interlocal agreement.
SECTION 7. For the purposes of defining a "transportation plan" consistent with 36.73 RCW and for this resolution:
A. "The transportation plan of a city" means its transportation program adopted and annually revised and extended as required by RCW 35.77.010;
B. "The transportation plan of the Puget Sound Regional Council" means its transportation improvement program developed and updated as required by RCW 47.80.023; and
C. "The transportation plan of the King County transportation district" includes, as adopted and updated, the Transportation Element of the King County Comprehensive Plan, the King County Department of Transportation Strategic Plan for Road Services, as approved by Motion 14190, or approved successor plan, the King County Transportation Needs Report, and the King County Department of Local Services, Road Services Division, Adopted Six-Year Capital Improvement Program.
SECTION 8. For the purposes of this resolution, "city" means a city or incorporated town within the boundaries of the King County transportation district.
SECTION 9. Severability. If any provision of this resolution or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the resolution or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.
SECTION 10. Effective date. This resolution takes effect immediately after passage of this resolution, but the additional sales and use tax imposed by section 1 of
this resolution applies only to taxable events occurring from the earliest practicable date consistent with RCW 82.14.055.