By John Clauson
Executive Director of Kitsap Transit

Only four in 10 Kitsap County residents have heard of Kitsap Transit’s proposed fast foot-ferry service connecting Bremerton, Kingston and Southworth to downtown Seattle. If voters approve a sales-tax measure this year, all three routes would be in service by 2020. As envisioned, the service would cut at least by half the time it now takes to reach downtown Seattle using existing transit options.

The vigorous public debate over a sales-tax measure to fund the service needs more light and less heat, more truth and less spin. Here are a few of the common claims we hear, along with the facts we’ve given our board:

Claim: The county’s residents will be asked to shoulder a new sales and property tax for Kitsap Transit to run a ferry service – wait, isn’t that Washington State Ferries’ business?

Fact: A new sales tax (not a property tax) of 3 cents per $10 could subsidize the cost of operating three passenger-only ferry routes from Kitsap County to downtown Seattle. In 2003, after 17 years of operating a passenger-only ferry service between Bremerton and Seattle, Washington State Ferries shut it down. WSF later used a federal grant to study a low-wake, high-speed foot ferry and handed the project off to Kitsap Transit.

Claim: It would be more fiscally prudent to use the sales-tax proceeds for other needs, such as better bus service and road improvements.

Fact: The state legislature has authorized the additional sales-tax funding for the passenger-only ferry service. Therefore, the proceeds can’t be used for other purposes. However, the ferry sales-tax revenue would also support the existing Port Orchard-Bremerton foot ferry, allowing Kitsap Transit to repurpose current funds for expanded bus service.

Claim: I don’t commute to Seattle. This ferry tax is a benefit for the few at everyone’s expense.

Fact: There are many “public goods” we all support that we might not use. Residents already support buses, 911 and other government services through a sales tax. Is a ferry that different? Our initial business plan for the ferry envisioned a barebones service focused on commuters, but after community feedback, we revised our proposal to serve non-commuters too: From October to April, the service would support six daily round trips (three in the morning, three in the afternoon). During the busy May to September period, the schedule would offer more frequent and evening sailings and include Saturdays. Economic development is expected to follow: Providing a quicker, more direct connection between Seattle and Kitsap County should boost property values near ferry terminals, attract new capital investment and create more job opportunities.

On Tuesday, Kitsap Transit’s board will consider adopting the passenger-only ferry plan and placing a sales-tax measure on the November ballot. We encourage you to learn more at KitsapTransit.com or by calling 800-501-RIDE.

John Clauson is executive director of Kitsap Transit.