The average Bellevue household would pay roughly $57 more a year under the most expensive of three transportation funding scenarios now before the City Council.
That question arrived on Sept. 15 inside a much larger one: a $2.3 billion preliminary budget covering 2027 and 2028, the document that determines what the city spends on everything from fire stations to sidewalk repair for the next two years. City Manager Diane Carlson’s proposal is balanced across all funds and carries a 1% increase in the city’s property tax levy, which the city attributes to sustained pressure on its revenue.
“This preliminary budget positions us to be future-focused and it is grounded in our commitment to providing high-quality services and making responsible investment choices,” Carlson said. “It delivers on our commitments, advances our priorities and creates lasting, positive impact for the community.”
Three scenarios, two of them new taxes
Rather than a single recommendation, staff handed the council a set of choices. The baseline scenario holds transportation spending to what existing revenue supports. The second layers on a 0.1% sales tax increase. The third pairs that sales tax with a $20 annual car tab fee — the combination the city estimates at about $57 per household per year.
Both revenue tools would run through a Transportation Benefit District, a taxing district cities may establish to raise money restricted to transportation use. Bellevue created one in July 2023 and has never funded it.
The sales tax alone would generate an estimated $11 million a year, and the burden would fall mostly outside city limits: Bellevue households would account for roughly 30% of the total, with the balance paid by people who shop in Bellevue and live elsewhere.
Part of that revenue already has a destination. The district figures in the city’s financing strategy for the Grand Connection Crossing, the pedestrian span over I-405 that will tie Downtown Bellevue to Wilburton, with construction targeted for 2028.
The groundwork has been laid over most of the year. Bellevue has been examining a new transportation tax since spring, and in August asked residents to help rank $1.5 billion in transportation projects it cannot currently pay for.
Beyond transportation
The rest of the proposal funds speed safety and walkability programs, parks and permitting, affordable housing and homelessness response, utility-bill assistance, digital accessibility and cybersecurity, and an expansion of the Bellevue Promise program. Startup 425 and KidsQuest Children’s Museum also receive support.
A companion six-year capital plan running through 2032 covers construction of Fire Station 5, City Hall maintenance, park upgrades, road and trail expansion and utility infrastructure.
What comes next
Sept. 15 was the second of three public hearings, and the council began working through the budget’s details on Sept. 22.
A community information session runs from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30, where staff will discuss the budget’s key investments and take questions. Registration is encouraged but not required. The city’s transportation survey also remains open.
The final public hearing is set for Oct. 27. The council is scheduled to adopt the budget Nov. 17.
