(The Center Square) – The Sound Transit Board of Directors is exploring a 1% property tax increase for next year to address the swelling costs of the agency’s long-term capital projects.
The 1% property tax increase would raise Sound Transit’s 2026 property tax revenue by 3.8%, from $176.2 million in 2025 to $183 million. This comes as the agency faces up to $30 billion in cost overruns for its capital projects, as previously reported by The Center Square.
Sound Transit’s proposed tax hike does not require a new vote because the authority for this annual increase was granted by voters in the 2016 Sound Transit 3 ballot measure. While the annual increase is capped at 1% of the previous year’s levy, the total tax revenue collected will be higher. This is because the total taxable value of properties in the district grows each year from new construction and improvements, which is allowed under state law…