Pierce Transit's 0.3% is Justified

Back in May, all areas in green left Pierce Transit, taking $8m/yr in revenue with them.

I was prompted to make this post because I have heard a couple of readers of FeedTacoma indicate that they don't understand why Pierce Transit is asking for 0.3% to restore bus service.  Why not 0.1% or 0.2%?  It's a good question and one that I feel is worth addressing.

If you can spare a minute, the simplest explanation is this:

1. Sales taxes in 2007 were coming in at a rate of $77m a year and now have declined to $63m this year, a difference of $14m a year.
2. Earlier this year the service boundary was revised and some cities (Sumner, Bonney Lake, and Dupont) chose to leave, taking $8m a year in sales taxes with them, bringing revenue down to $55m.
3. At this moment, mainly because of Point 2, Pierce Transit is dipping into a limited pool of reserve funds to maintain operations that help people get to work, school, and appointments each day.  I hope I don't need to remind you that bus service has suffered a 43% cut since 2007.

On the revenue side, in the Pierce Transit service area, each additional 0.1% is ~$8m/year.

• 0.1% - or $8m, would only back fill the sales taxes lost from Sumner and Bonney Lake and Dupont.
• 0.2% - or $16m, partially restores service lost during the recession, but takes much longer.
• 0.3% - or $24m, gets the system growing again and back to good service levels by the late 2010's.

That is why Pierce Transit is asking for 0.3% - to restore lost funding from the recession and from the boundary revision - gradually regrowing the system back to adequate service levels by around 2017.  

Please vote to Approve Proposition 1.  Thanks for your support, Tacoma.