The Seattle City Council Select Budget Committee voted 8-0 on March 5 to recommend passage of Council Bill 120946, which lifts a budget proviso that had withheld $89,000,000 of 2025 transportation levy funds pending council authorization.

Chair Dan Strauss said the proviso had been placed in the 2025 budget to give the council additional budget oversight while SDOT developed a delivery plan. Calvin Chow of Council Central Staff summarized the legislative background: the levy includes an annual delivery plan requirement and an initial proviso that held roughly half of the 2025 levy appropriations until the council could review SDOT’s proposed spend plan.

SDOT staff presented the 2025 levy delivery plan and explained how projects were selected. SDOT officials said the plan contains more than 400 projects across 11 categories, including Vision Zero safety projects (corridor and spot safety work), Safe Routes to School, sidewalk construction and repairs, street maintenance and modernization, bridges and structures work, transit corridor improvements, signals and operations, bicycle network work, people streets and public spaces, climate resiliency including electrification, freight and goods movement, and governance and equitable implementation. Francisca Stephan (SDOT) said the plan includes both large, multi-year projects and smaller, near-term work, and noted that some maintenance and operations activities began immediately on Jan. 1 when levy collections started.

Public commenters urged the committee to approve the spend plan with minimal council interference. Clara Kantor, speaking for the Levy Oversight Committee, told the committee members the levy had passed with “67 percent support from over 260,000 Seattle voters” and asked council to avoid shifting funds away from projects prioritized by SDOT’s equity, safety and mobility filters. Community organizer Cecilia Black and Beacon Hill resident Dan Rounds also urged the committee to approve the plan and to prioritize sidewalks that connect people to transit.

Committee members pressed SDOT on several implementation issues. Councilmember Dan Saka praised the plan’s detail and emphasized the need to staff up to deliver projects; SDOT said it was actively filling vacancies and initiating hiring processes for new positions authorizsed in budget actions, and that some roles require job-classification work with central HR. Members asked about dependencies on grant funding (several large corridor and pavement projects have federal or state grant components) and the potential cost impacts of broader trade tensions. SDOT staff said most project cost risk relates to specific components (for example, steel for signals and poles) rather than bulk pavement materials; they said they will monitor bids and market changes and adjust scopes or timing if necessary.

SDOT highlighted several specific commitments and figures inside the plan: the delivery plan documents more than 400 projects; the accelerated sidewalk program aims for about 350 blocks of new sidewalk (roughly 250 of those in the plan’s first four years); the department has identified about 100 locations for leading pedestrian intervals; and the levy includes funds for bridge and structure maintenance, inspections (including area-way inspections), and preventative maintenance. Calvin Chow also noted the levy’s implementing language allows adjustments of total appropriations by up to 10% by ordinance after the levy oversight committee has been given an opportunity to comment; changes above 10% would require a three-fourths vote of council.

Councilmembers said they expect regular updates. Several members asked that SDOT and central staff provide periodic checkpoints on project progress, emerging bid-cost changes, and hiring for implementation capacity; SDOT agreed to regular reporting via the levy dashboard and engagement with the yet-to-be-established levy oversight committee. SDOT also described the Transportation Funding Task Force called for in levy materials; staff said the task force procurement and start are planned for June 1, 2025, with a final report due at the end of 2027.

After discussion Chair Strauss moved the bill to lift the proviso; Councilmember Lisa Rink seconded. The clerk called the roll and the committee recorded the following votes: Councilmember Dan Saka, aye; Councilmember Hollingsworth, aye; Councilmember Andrew Kettle, aye; Councilmember Lisa Moore, aye; Council President Nelson, aye; Councilmember Lisa Rink, aye; Vice Chair Teresa Rivera, aye; Chair Dan Strauss, aye. The motion carried 8-0; the committee’s recommendation that the bill pass will be sent to the March 11 City Council meeting.

The presentation and vote conclude this Select Budget Committee consideration. Committee members and SDOT staff emphasized that, while the delivery plan includes detailed listings of projects in different stages (planning, design, construction), inclusion on the list does not guarantee immediate construction; many items remain in planning and will proceed into later years. Members requested continued transparency and timely reporting to avoid unintended delays that could reduce the levy’s effectiveness.