Tri-Cities transit riders speak out against cuts. Board debates trimming taxes

The Ben Franklin Transit Board voted to table indefinitely a resolution to temporarily reduce sales tax collections for the bus service and a resolution to ask voters whether to permanently reduce sales tax collections.

The board heard nearly 30 comments from the public before its Thursday night decision, all opposing the sales tax reduction.

But what swayed most board members was a proposal to hold a board workshop before voting and also to seek a legal opinion. There was disagreement on whether cutting sales tax would mean the loss of as much as $75 million in Washington state funds.

Two board members opposed tabling the resolutions — Franklin County Commissioners Clint Didier and Rocky Mullen.

But other board members at the meeting favored with a voice vote tabling the decision. The board has nine voting members, all elected city council and county commissioners from the area.

Most agreed that they needed to have a discussion on ideas to operate the transit more efficiently and ways to increase ridership or otherwise deliver more value to residents.

No decision was made on whether that workshop would be held immediately or after the transit board has filled its vacant general manager position.

Board members first want to know how long it will take to get an opinion from the Washington state Attorney General’s Office on whether or not it will be eligible for newly available grants worth $75 million over the next 16 years if the agency’s taxing authority is reduced.

The Washington state Legislature approved the grant money with the intent that transits could not reduce the taxes they collect and then offset that with grant money.

The grants also require that transits agree by Oct. 1 to let riders under 18 ride for free to be eligible for the grant money.

Didier, quoting the Washington Policy Center, said that temporarily reducing the 0.6% sales tax collected for the transit in the bicounty Tri-Cities area to 0.5% would not make it ineligible for the grants. Sales tax authority and sales tax rates are not the same thing, he said.

But some other board members said they were not prepared to gamble $75 million on that without a legal opinion.

Member Brad Beauchamp from the Kennewick City Council agreed to table the tax cut decisions, but said he is concerned about what will happen when the the grant money runs out more than a decade in the future.

The conversation may then be to raise taxes to make up the loss, he said.

Wrong time for tax cut?

Richland Councilman and transit board member Terry Christensen said this is not the right time to put the matter to a public vote, given factors such as high inflation and rising gas prices.

Voters now cannot be given reliable information about what the impact to the transit would be two or four years in the future if taxes are cut, he said.

Pasco Councilman Joseph Campos said the service could be available to more people, but that can’t happen if taxes are cut.

In Pasco 24% of average household costs are for transportation, 13% of Pasco residents have a disability and 4% of households do not have a vehicle, he said.

West Richland Councilman Richard Bloom, the transit board vice chairman, recommended the workshop.

“To just blindly do a sales tax cut without a clue what we are trying to accomplish, I doubt if that truly is a true approach for a board member to say he is representing his constituents,” he said. “Transit is important and it can be improved.”

That could include providing bus service for workers to the Hanford nuclear reservation, he said.

Ridership is up 14% on general bus routes from January to February, he said, which he credited to the rising cost of gasoline.

Transit tax rate

Several of the people who spoke during the public comment period said that the average savings per person per month from the proposed sales tax cut would be $1.66, or about $20 a year.

Most residents would not notice that savings, but riders who can’t afford a car or cannot drive because they are disabled would see their quality of life diminished by cuts in service from the sales tax cut, they said.

But Didier countered that $1.66 per person in a large family, such as those of farmworkers who pick asparagus, would be a significant help.

Transit service is important, but in the Tri-Cities it is not run efficiently and effectively, he said.

Ben Franklin Transit staff said that cutting the sales tax and not being eligible for the new state grant would be a roughly 25% change to the agency’s possible budget.

That would require a reduction in service, less spent on capitol projects or a combination of both.

Now Ben Franklin Transit has the lowest tax rate among Washington state’s five transit services classified as large urban. Only two of the 15 transit systems in the state have lower tax rates, according to Ben Franklin Transit officials.

During an hour of public testimony, board members heard how valuable good transit service is to a community.

Depending on bus service

Cindy O’Neill of The ARC said transit services provide a lifeline for people who are disabled, giving them independence. The service also prevents family members from having to take a half day off work to drive them to essential activities, such as doctor appointments.

“Most of you board members drive anywhere you want to go,” said Frank Cuta, a retired Hanford worker who is blind.

He depends on transit services to stay active and independent.

“I am deeply concerned because I know the cutback in transit funding will eventually leave me out in the cold,” he said.

Dale Engles, a Dial-A-Ride driver, said the board seems out to punish the poor and disabled of the Tri-Cities area.

“If anything we should be investing more in our transit service, making it more approachable, easier to use, more convenient, timely so most of our community feels confident they are going to get themselves to where they are going in the time frame they need,” he said.

Cigden Capan of Richland said she’s tried to commute by bus, but didn’t have time for long waits between bus transfers or waiting 30 minutes for the next bus if she missed one.

Parking can be difficult to find at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Washington State University Richland and students have petitioned the chancellor to provide free bus passes to alleviate the parking issue, she said.

Instead of cutting service, the transit board should be addressing unmet demand for transportation, she said.

Bus riders speak

Caleb Thomas, a Kennewick student, said bus service allowed him to get a job before he had saved enough money to buy a car, although he continues to ride the bus to classes several days a week.

He’s not on food stamps or the free and reduced lunches anymore, but he could be if he wasn’t able to get to work, he said.

Ginger Wireman told the board she rode the bus to her north Richland job pre-pandemic because of aggressive traffic during the Hanford site commuting hours. Driving cost her about $100 a month but a bus pass costs $25, she said.

Other people said that having a reliable bus service was important to attracting new business.

Many transit board member seem to be treating transit as a business rather than a service, said West Richland Councilwoman Kate Moran, who does not serve on the transit board.

“People who need it, desperately need it,” she said.

Ben Franklin Transit is not a business, but it should be run as efficiently as a business, said Benton County Commissioner Will McKay, chairman of the transit board.

“I’d like to see how we can tighten this budget to make it more efficient for everyone, the riders and the taxpayer,” he said.

There are areas where the transit could be saving money, he said.

This story was originally published April 15, 2022 at 5:00 AM.