A google search of Financial documents resulted in a July 24th release of the 2025 Sound Transit Report 2025 Annual Report including a Crowe Independent Auditors Report. It included a Sound Transit “ Statement of management’s responsibility” with the following:
Limitations exist in any system of internal accounting controls in which the cost of the system being implemented should not exceed the benefits derived. Sound Transit believes that the agency’s system does provide reasonable assurance that transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations and is adequate to accomplish the stated objectives.
The “ Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of Financial statements" in the report included the following:
The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, We do not express an opinion or provide any assurance on the information because the limited procedures do not provide us with sufficient evidence to express an opinion or provide any assurance.
Basically saying they can only report what they're told. Yet, any analysis of the cost of light rail extensions beyond UW Stadium, across I-90 Bridge, or beyond SeaTac Airport, as well as the operating costs of light rail trains on the extensions will result in very little “derived benefit” from added riders. None of the extensions increase the capacity they only increase the operating cost.
For example the Sound Transit June 2026 boardings for the four Lynnwood Link stations was 12,848 boardings, the three Federal Way Link stations 8582 boardings, both fractions of Sound Transit predictions. A clear warning extensions to Everett and Tacoma wiil double the cost but add few boarders. To the extent the light rail trains replace bus routes, transit capacity into Seattle will be reduced and transferring boarders will reduce access to transit for those nearer the city.
Yet Sound Transit continues to include light rail extensions beyond Lynnwood to Everett and beyond Federal Way to Tacoma as well as maintenance facilities for trains on both extensions, not because of a “derived benefit”, but because they consider them to be “affordable”. The second tunnel and Duwamish waterway bridge, North and South Maintenance Facilities, light rail to Tacoma and Everett are affordable. The West Seattle link lost a station and the link to Ballard was shortened but were also considered affordable.
The bottom line is Sound Transit has gone from limiting projects to those whose cost
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