Mobility Coalition Recap: The Budget 100 Meter

Bellevue Chamber  |  August 19, 2026

Our Bellevue Mobility Coalition convened on August 19 to make sure we're ready to react on the spot when the city releases its transportation budget on September 10 before a September 15 public hearing.

Reading The Budget In Real Time

Early September holds much of the chamber's attention regarding budgeting. September 10th marks the release of the preliminary transportation budget, making it a priority to have a set plan for the upcoming City Council meeting. To have a well drafted letter to council by the deadline on the 15th, the Chamber must develop a list of "must-have" projects and "fatal flaw" red flags to look for when the preliminary budget is released.

On the forefront of these priorities is the Transportation Benefit District (TBD), a project that the Chamber has advocated for in the past. The purpose of the district is to cultivate funding, but this raises a structural question that is still in the air: is the City's longer range Transportation Improvement Program going to be directly funded by the TBD, or is the TBD funding going to be funneled into the shorter6-year CIP plan? Currently, there is no clear answer, however, more recent signals point to a baseline CIP plus a separate list of TBD enabled projects, attributing TBD funding to lend itself towards the shorter CIP plan.

An Updated Letter And A September Sprint

The chamber's February 9th letter to council still accurately reflects where we believe the funding conversation should end up, so instead of starting over we are working on updating it to better reflect what's changed since. The City has addressed some aspects of the letter's priorities, however some categories, namely a technology fund and a highway fund, still aren't reflected in it. These are being added, with other answers to worst-case funding scenarios being created as a backup. The Chamber is ensuring testimony be direct and clear, bringing together broad business and community support to continue benefiting Bellevue as a whole. To anchor the testimony, themes like proactive infrastructure investment and directing growth towards urban centers remain paramount.