By Alia Sinclair

The SeaTac City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night (July 14, 2026) to approve an ordinance placing a proposition before the voters at the Nov. 3, 2026, General Election to authorize a new Public Safety Sales and Use Tax.

The need for the tax revenue comes as a direct result of the City of SeaTac experiencing demands on its public safety systems that are uncommon for a city its size due to the presence of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and the millions of visitors the city receives each year. 

The presence of many hotels and transportation corridors also increases demand for city services including police and fire services, criminal justice operations, emergency response, municipal court services, prosecution, public defense, and other public safety programs.

Currently funding for these services costs the city 46% of its General Fund operating budget, leaving only 54% of the fund to cover all other operational needs of the city. 

If passed by voters in November, the new Safety Sales & Use tax would help close this funding gap, creating a dedicated fund for Fire and Safety services and relieving the pressure of operating costs on the General Fund.

A bonus benefit is the Safety Sales & Use tax would not be excessively burdensome to SeaTac residents, as anyone who makes purchases eligible for sales tax would be sharing the burden of paying for safety services, including visitors from other cities in the region and the millions of travelers passing to and from the airport. 

Councilmember Peter Kwon also noted that it’s in the best interest of the city to enact the tax because King County will also have the opportunity to do so, and if they do, the split of tax revenue will disproportionately benefit the county ahead of the city.

If the City of SeaTac enacts the new tax, 85% will remain with the city, while 15% goes to King County.

If King County enacts the tax, 60% of the funds generated will go to benefit the county, while only 40% remains with the city.

“It bears repeating that I don’t think I’ve heard anyone on the council say that they’re excited about a sales tax,” Councilmember James Lovell said in his comments. “I don’t think anyone here wants to see a tax that hits our residents first, right, that’s a really tough thing. But we’ve heard that we don’t just have an elevated public safety cost of business, we have a surpassing cost of business [in SeaTac]. It’s surpassed the resources we have as a city. […] We need a tool. And this tool is available to us.”