Sound Transit must cut back; south King hurt most

A $3.9 billion budget hole dug by the recession and a slow recovery mean Sound Transit can no longer fully deliver the package voters approved in 2008 for more light rail, express bus service and commuter rail, the agency's chief executive said Thursday.

"The reality is we can't afford the whole program," Sound Transit CEO Joni Earl told the agency's governing board during an afternoon meeting.

Sound Transit's projected budget gap over the 15-year plan widened by another $767 million in August after an initial forecast last year of a $3.1 billion hole. Budget discussions began with Sound Transit's board this week, with the final budget slated to be adopted in December.

Earl made recommendations Thursday for reductions, under which the effects likely would be felt hardest in south King County. Earl said there won't be enough money to build light rail to Federal Way by 2023, which the agency originally planned. She also recommends delaying the addition of four round-trip Sounder commuter trains in South King County by one year and suspending plans to build more parking around Sounder stations in Auburn and Kent.

Sound Transit planned to extend light rail from Sea-Tac Airport to a station at South 200th Street and International Boulevard in Seatac, and continue from there to South 272nd Street in Federal Way. Earl proposes Sound Transit continue with plans to build the South 200th Street station by 2016 -- five years ahead of schedule to take advantage of a favorable bidding climate. However, with funding no longer available to reach Federal Way, she suggests spending $2.5 million to study alternatives for a shorter route or different mode.

In 2008, voters approved the Sound Transit 2 package, authorizing a 0.5 percent sales tax and a 0.4 percent motor vehicle excise tax to pay for additional commuter rail, bus service and 36 miles of light rail, including lines to Bellevue, Lynnwood and Federal Way. Projected to collect $14 billion between now and 2023, that forecast is down to $10.7 billion. Sound Transit says its estimates were conservative, but the recession is beyond what anyone could have predicted.

Sound Transit's policy of sub-area equity assures that taxes imposed on one subarea support projects and operations that directly benefit that area. According to the financial report, South King County has been slowest of the three subareas to recover, with tax revenue having dropped 30 percent.

The ST2 plan promised 100,000 hours of new express bus service. Sound Transit says 78,000 will be implemented, with 66,000 already in service.

The budget situation does not affect construction of the $1.9 billion light rail extension from downtown to Capitol Hill and the University of Washington, which already is under contract and under way. Plans for Eastlink light rail to downtown Bellevue and the Overlake Transit Center in 10 years still are considered fully funded, although not with the same level of certainty in the schedule, Earl said.

The economy could worsen, she said.

The shortfall doesn't kill a proposal to build a tunnel for light rail though downtown Bellevue, Earl said. The Bellevue City Council, which prefers a tunnel instead of a surface route, has agreed to commit $150 million to tunnel construction to cover half of the costs.

"The tunnel is contingent on terms of the agreement. Nothing about the tunnel has changed," Earl said.

Earl also recommends no longer making $50 million available for a potential public-private partnership to run commuter trains along an abandoned BNSF corridor between Woodinville and Renton that was purchased last year by the Port of Seattle.

Already, Sound Transit has pulled $2.1 billion from reserves, implemented a wage freeze, and slimmed down project designs to fill the budget hole. Some of the loss was offset by lower construction costs due to the recession. Earl said the agency will not make cuts in maintenance or upkeep.

King County Councilwoman Julia Patterson, who sits on the Sound Transit Board and represents South King County, including Tukwila, Seatac and Kent, said she had concerns about how cuts would be distributed.

"I think we need to be mindful of equity issues. Those area hit the hardest are now the areas that will be taking the biggest cuts. I don't know if that's fair or the right thing to do," she said. "I continue to ask myself the the question about the wisdom of that particular policy we operate under."