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After a two year hiatus, Redmond's Business Tax Transportation Improvement
(BTTI) Commitee reconvened on March 3, 2010. At this first meeting,
committee members established a working charter for the group and determined the
purpose of the committee. A
copy of the presentation
given by City staff at the March 3 meeting is available for review. This
presentation included an educational overview to familiarize the BTTI Committee
with the City's transportation planning and financial documents (see BTTI's
Guiding Documents and Legislation below).
As in previous years, the BTTI Committee advises the City on the use of
revenues collected through the business tax, and guides expenditures of business
tax dollars. Minus the business tax revenue that is earmarked to pay down
the Bear Creek Parkway bond, the BTTI Committee was tasked to allocate $3.1
million for 2001/2012.
The first step of the process to
select and consider business tax-supported projects and programs was to
review criteria used by previous BTTI committees. After the 2010 committee
revised previous criteria to establish its own, each
committee member scored individual criterion from one to ten. Scores were
added together and averaged to establish a weight for each individual criterion.
At the committee's request, City staff then presented a list of projects and
programs that the committee could consider funding. The list was made up
of unfunded or under-funded projects and programs from the City's
6-Year Transportation Improvement Program for 2010
through 2015, and several Transportation Demand Management programs, including
the Shuttle and Transit Service Program. A
list of these projects
and programs and a
map of their locations are available for review.
Individual committee members rated each proposed project and program
consistent with the established criteria, after which these individual ratings
were combined to establish the committee's project/program ranking. Once
the ranked projects and programs were revealed to the committee, they did a
feasibility assessment of each against other allocated funding. When the
committee reached agreement, their
project and program
recommendations were submitted for City Council consideration via the
Request for Offers phase in this years
Budgeting by Priorities. Click on the link provided to see the
timeline for when the BTTI projects and
programs may be approved through this budget process.
The Business Tax Transportation Improvements (BTTI) is a critical funding source that helps the City move forward on high priority projects that support the continued vitality of the business community while improving the community as a whole.
In 1996 the City Council approved a business tax surcharge of $55 per employee that funds business and community friendly transportation projects in Redmond, aimed at developing city infrastructure around multi-modal transportation solutions.
During the 2007/2008 budget process, the City Council approved Ordinance
No. 2318, establishing a permanent business tax with a total fee per
employee set at $90. The base fee currently stands at $35. The on-going $55 transportation surcharge provides a more sustainable source of revenue to help fund the completion of the projects and programs in the 2022 Transportation Facilities Plan. The tax is collected by the end of each year by January 31st, when a business license is renewed.
The $35 base
fee is deposited into the City's General Fund to support all City
services (Police, Fire, Parks) and maintain the City's infrastructure. The
remaining $55 transportation surcharge is used to fund transportation system
improvements in Redmond.
The BTTI Advisory Committee was created to provide guidance to City Council on the use of revenues collected through the business tax surcharge, based on input from the business community. The committee consists of 12 city residents:
- 8 representatives from the business community
- 3 residents not officially representing the business community
- 1 non-voting City Council member
This committee of 12 individuals establishes the values and priorities which serve as the basis for selecting and rating transportation projects and programs. City staff first presents projects and programs that fit the committee's criteria. Then voting committee members rate the projects and programs to create a final ranking. The final ranking is then discussed and voted upon by committee members, which is in turn proposed for City Council approval.
For more information regarding BTTI, please call Business Licensing in the City of Redmond Finance Department at 425-556-2196.
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