How to Finish ST3 Sooner (Without Raising Taxes)

BY ISSAQUAH MAYOR MARK MULLET

The Sound Transit Board is facing large decisions regarding its budget shortfall. The Board is now expected to adopt an updated ST3 plan that will help reshape timelines for light rail segments across the region. Some projects, like the West Seattle line, are proposed to move forward now, while others, including Issaquah's connection, are pushed back again - this time by six years. Meanwhile, construction of the Seattle Center to Ballard line is postponed indefinitely.

Let's be honest: that's frustrating.

Voters approved ST3 with a different timeline in mind. Delays, rising costs, and shifting priorities have left many feeling jaded with how we ended up here, and why delivering major infrastructure - particularly in our area - has become so difficult.

But even in that frustration, there's something important to recognize: This update keeps more of the plan alive. There was a real chance that segments would be scrapped.

Projects aren't being canceled, but they are being delayed until additional funding can be identified. For Issaquah, we are still getting light rail, not a fallback Bus Rapid Transit alternative. That's worth acknowledging, even with news about more delays.

Voters can be asked to approve debt capacity up to 5%, but increasing the capacity to only 3.5% would enable delivery of ST3 without further delays (Nathan Dickey; modified from Sound Transit's 2026 Proposed Budget and Financial Plan) Innovative Options to Consider

The latest Sound Transit proposal not only resets the timeline but also opens the door to creative financial tools that could restore completion timelines closer to what the voters approved. One of these options for the Board's consideration is expanding debt capacity.

Imagine you're approved for a $500,000 home construction loan, but a rule says you can only borrow half of what you are approved for. So, you spend years saving the rest in cash. By the time you're ready to build, the same house now costs $700,000.

You didn't just have to wait to build your home, you also ended up making it more expensive.

That's the dynamic we're facing with portions of ST3. Delays driven by financial constraints don't save money. They increase costs and postpone construction.

Today, the agency is limited in its debt capacity to borrowing 1.5% of the assessed value of the Sound Transit taxing district. This policy was designed for caution. But Sound Transit now brings in more than $2.5 billion annually and carries relatively modest debt compared to that revenue.

In practical terms, it means we are choosing to build slower than our finances allow.

Changing the agency's debt capacity limit would require 60 percent approval from voters in the Sound Transit district.

Voters will want to see what that change gets them. In practice, this would mean increasing the amount of money available now so that engineers can begin work on cost-saving design ideas today. That will help reduce the delays between design and construction so we can get projects delivered sooner.

Adjusting that capacitywouldn'tmean raising taxes. It would mean using existing revenue more effectively,so projects can be delivered sooner, before inflation drives costs even higher.

Imagine asking votersin 2028:Would you like to see the remaining ST3 projects completed five to 10 years sooner,with nochange intaxes?

That'sa conversation worth having.

Those improved timelines aren't farfetched. With these proposed changes, increased funding becomes available sooner and designing the remaining lines could be pulled forward to happen concurrently. West Seattle starts now, and other lines soon after. We eliminate costly delays and create more of the network for the same amount of tax dollars.

Push Forward

The new Sound Transit proposal deserves recognition. It keeps projects moving, preserves more of the vision for the system, and ensures communities like Issaquah remain part of the light rail network.

That matters.

But it still falls short of what was originally promised.

We can hold both truths at the same time: appreciation for creative problem solving and urgency to continue finding more solutions.

The goal remains the same - continue to build out a world-class public transportation infrastructure so that more people in our communities can benefit from ST3 and what they voted for.

Let's build the damn trains!