Ellensburg officials discuss renewing 0.2% transit tax and widening its use to street maintenance

Ellensburg City staff and the Public Transit Advisory Committee met Jan. 21 to discuss a planned 2025 ballot measure to renew the city's 0.2% Transportation Benefit District (TBD) sales-and-use tax and whether to expand allowable uses to include street maintenance programs.

City staff opened the study session by explaining that the TBD sales tax was authorized by voters in 2016 and is scheduled to expire Sept. 30, 2026, unless renewed. "This Transportation Benefit District is traditionally used for funding transportation system improvements, like street maintenance programs," a City staff member said during the presentation, adding that Ellensburg is one of the few jurisdictions that primarily uses its TBD dollars to support a local transit program.

The discussion matters because the 0.2% rate currently brings an estimated $1.7 million a year to the city (about $800,000 per 0.1%); staff said those revenues have helped sustain Central Transit operations and fund capital improvements, including ADA-compliant bus stops. Panelists stressed grants have supplemented operating budgets and helped grow the transit fund balance in recent years, but they flagged uncertainty about…