TACOMA, Wash. — Local officials and a high school marching band were on hand Monday morning as one of Sound Transit’s first Link light-rail cars was rolled out for public inspection, the South County Journal reported.
Sound Transit officials say it was only a coincidence that the event occurred just before today’s general election, when voters will decide Initiative 776, which proponents say would abolish annual license tag fees that help fund Sound Transit.
The roll-out also came a few days after a judge ruled against light-rail opponents trying to stop construction of the planned light-rail line from downtown Seattle to SeaTac.
The group, Sane Transit, claimed the light-rail line is about seven miles shorter and more than $1 billion more expensive than what voters thought they were approving in 1996. But a judge recently ruled that Sound Transit could proceed with its modified plan.
Political challenges
In Tacoma, work for Sound Transit’s first light-rail segment began in 2001. The 1.6 mile, $81 million line is scheduled to be carrying passengers by September 2003 between downtown Tacoma and the Tacoma Dome Station by Freighthouse Square. The Seattle light-rail segment also is being challenged by initiative czar Tim Eyman, who says voter approval of I-776 sets annual license tag fees at $30 and eliminates existing local fees or taxes.
If I-776 passes, Eyman says, it would eliminate the .03 percent motor vehicle excise tax for most residents of King, Pierce and Snohomish counties, that helps to bankroll Sound Transit.
Light-rail supporters contend that the state’s constitution and case law say you can’t eliminate such taxes already committed to redemption of bond sales.
Lee Somerstein, a Sound Transit spokesman, said Monday’s roll-out was not timed for today’s election. Sound Transit always has rolled out new buses, trains and other vehicles as soon as possible “to show the taxpayers where their money is going,” he said.
Impact beyond light rail
If I-776 does pass and is upheld in court, eliminating Sound Transit’s excise tax would amount to a loss of an estimated $472 million in revenues plus an additional loss of $227 million in bonding capacity.
That adds up to a reduction of nearly $700 million, about 20 percent of the $4.7 billion Sound Transit budget for 2003-2009.
“It would affect everything, not just light-rail,” Somerstein said.
That includes the ST Regional Express bus service and the Sounder commuter trains, plus the agency’s share for new park and ride lots, transit centers, HOV lanes and other projects.
The Sound Transit fees are added to license fees for most residents of King County, who live within the regional transportation district. Areas outside the district, where residents don’t pay the extra fees, include communities east of Redmond city limits and the Pine Lake Plateau, along with the cities of Covington and Maple Valley and areas east of State Route 18 in south King County.