Sawant, Licata target Seattle business, parking to help Metro buses
May 19, 2014, 3:33 PM | Updated: 5:02 pm
City Council members Nick Licata and Kshama Sawant proposed a plan Monday to help save Metro Transit bus service in Seattle after voters in King County failed to approve Proposition 1.
They want to enact an employee head tax of up to $18 per year and boost the commercial parking tax in an effort to raise $21 million, which would be used to pay for service hours within the city.
Their plan comes on the heels of Seattle Mayor Ed Murray’s proposal of a .01 sales tax increase and a $60 car tab fee for city residents, which is expected to raise $45 million year.
“Of this, $40 million will preserve the vast majority of the cuts through 2015. This is more than 90 percent of the 110,000 daily boardings proposed for elimination in the City of Seattle,” Murray said.
Licata told KIRO Radio the mayor’s plan is good, but he’d like to swap out the sales tax increase for the head tax and higher parking tax, which he said the council could impose without the vote of the people.
“We need to look at how to have a revenue stream that is fair and that is, in some ways, more directly related to the transit issue,” Licata said.
He added that he voted for a $25 head tax in 2006 for Seattle streets and then voted to repeal it in 2009 for the recession.
Licata said he’s not afraid a head tax, on top of a potential $15 minimum wage, will scare away businesses.
“What makes Seattle a business-friendly city is the investment we make in the infrastructure. Ultimately, that’s what’s most important and that’s what this revenue stream is designed to do.”
Councilmember Sawant tweeted on Monday: “Mobility is a human right” #taxtherich
After the failure of Proposition 1 to fund Metro bus service and road programs, King County announced four rounds of bus service cuts totaling 16 percent of transit service.
Licata doesn’t think they could raise all the funds needed before the first round of cuts, but his plan could be ready for 2015.
KIRO Radio’s Jillian Raftery contributed to this report.
