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Public transit officials in Vancouver, Wash., are looking for another way to pay for new light-rail line in light of the city’s unfavorable view of a sales tax.

The board of directors for Vancouver’s public transit agency C-TRAN voted on Tuesday to explore other funding options to pay for the operating costs of a light-rail line from Portland to Vancouver over a new Interstate 5 bridge. The bridge and the light-rail line are part of the Columbia River Crossing project.

The board originally proposed an increase in sales tax to cover the costs, estimated to be $2.57 annually, but views changed on Monday, when the Vancouver City Council voted to impose a bloc veto on a sales tax vote this fall.

Clark County Commissioner Steve Stuart posed the idea of looking into other funding options as a compromise to the veto, to which the board agreed.

Jack Burkman, city council member, said the board’s decision was what the council hoped to achieve with the veto, which he said was passed not to eliminate the idea of an increase in sales tax, but to encourage the examination of other funding options.

鈥淔or any big project we have, the last thing we look at is sales tax, because sales taxes are so hard on businesses,鈥� Burkman said. 鈥淭he decision was to say, 鈥楧on’t lock on one thing right now; let’s see how much we can do in other places.’鈥�

The C-TRAN board has until July to decide on an option that will go on the ballot.