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The City of Seattle
Ordinance /
Council Bill /
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An ordinance relating to the financing of the Seattle Department of Transportation; authorizing the loan of funds in the amount of $63,500,000 from multiple city funds to the Transportation Fund for the purpose of maintaining the Transportation Fund in a positive cash position while the underlying causes of the negative cash balance in the Transportation Fund are evaluated and addressed.
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Recitals:
Ordinance 126227, passed November 23, 2020, authorized an interfund loan in the amount of $25,000,000 from the Information Technology Fund to the Transportation Fund, with the loan to be repaid no later than December 31, 2024.
Ordinance 127136, passed November 21, 2024, authorized an extension of the interfund loan term to December 31, 2025. The interfund loan was fully paid and closed in December 2025.
The COVID-19 pandemic and associated decline in revenues related to parking and transportation was a significant contributor to the need for the interfund loan authorized by the City Council in Ordinance 126227. Unlike many City programs, the revenue loss to the Transportation Fund was not eligible to be backfilled with federal pandemic relief dollars.
The Transportation Fund is again in a negative cash position, and the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is proposing reductions to the current year 2026 Revised Budget and proposing both reductions and revenue enhancements in the 2027-2028 Proposed Budget, that together are anticipated to contribute to restoring the Transportation Fund to a positive cash balance.
An interdepartmental team led by the Office of City Finance and including staff from SDOT and the City Budget Office was formed in July 2026 and is working to identify and address the underlying causes of the negative cash balance in the Transportation Fund.
While this work is underway, an inter...
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