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发帖数: 6864 | 1 King County Metro Transit faces a $60 million deficit next year and a 17
percent reduction in service over the next two years, with the majority of
the cuts expected in the Seattle-Shoreline area, where most of the buses run.
There is an alternative: a new car-tab fee that appears headed for the
November ballot, where it would compete for taxpayer approval with other
local measures.
State lawmakers gave county officials the authority earlier this year to
charge an extra $20 for car tabs — which would provide $50 million over two
years — to help Metro. That's enough, when combined with reserve funds, to
largely maintain existing service, according to Metro.
The nine-member Metropolitan King County Council was also granted two
options for how it might apply the financial tourniquet. By a simple
majority vote, it could put the request for increased car-tab fees to the
voters. Or, a supermajority of six could simply enact the new fees without
going to the voters.
County Executive Dow Constantine is expected to announce his proposal Monday
, when he'll ask the council to impose the fees without a vote of the public.
It appears unlikely, though, that six council votes can be mustered for that.
Constantine's transportation adviser, Chris Arkills, acknowledged that
getting a supermajority is a "difficult challenge, but a case we're prepared
to make."
Four council members, all Republicans, have stated they're against enacting
the fees without voter approval.
Environmental and transit advocates, who'd rather avoid the expense and
uncertainty of an election campaign, hope they can still sway one of the
Republicans.
Jane Hague's view
Jane Hague, one of the four Republicans on the council, was thought to be
the most likely swing vote. Hague is facing a tough re-election campaign:
She represents an Eastside district that includes Bellevue, Kirkland and
many transit riders, and she testified in Olympia for the legislation giving
King County the authority to seek higher car-tab fees.
And she may soon feel pressure. King County Conservation Voters will
consider the council's car-tab votes in making endorsements and campaign
expenditures, according to the group's Jesseca Brand.
A new political-action committee that's spun off from the Greater Seattle
Chamber of Commerce will likely use car-tab votes as a measuring stick to
assess county candidates. The Chamber supports the increase in car-tab fees.
But Hague said Wednesday she's "pretty darn firm" against sidestepping
voters. Advocates may think they can sway her, she said, "but I don't think
so."
Hague said her Olympia testimony was meant to convince legislators that
Metro has gotten "leaner" in the face of declining sales-tax revenues — its
main source of funds — and needs new tools to maintain routes. But she
said voters should have a say on increased car-tab fees.
Changes at Metro
Metro has cut about 100 jobs, raised fares, raided reserves, and its
employees have given about $17 million in pay concessions, according to
Councilmember Larry Phillips. (Phillips, Larry Gossett and Joe McDermott are
the three council members who've said they would enact fees without an
election.)
County officials also approved a new framework for determining where future
bus service will go. Metro had relied on a rigid formula — criticized as
political and arbitrary — to allocate service among the suburbs and Seattle
. The new criteria will evaluate bus routes based on ridership and the most
transit-reliant populations.
At a meeting of the county's Regional Transit Committee on Wednesday, the
new framework was hailed as transparent and progressive. "The era of empty
buses is over," Phillips said.
Metro's finances and new allocation plan are likely to be themes in any
election campaign for the new car-tab fee.
When to have a vote
When such a campaign may occur is still to be determined.
The most likely options are this November or early next year. Any later than
that and county officials run the risk of not taking full advantage of
their two-year window to collect increased car-tab fees. That window closes
in 2014.
But if the matter went to voters in February or April, when there may not be
other county or city issues to share the cost of an election, the county
might have to pay up to approximately $1 million to print, distribute and
tally ballots.
If it went on a November ballot, along with other county and city matters,
the cost might be negligible, said Kim van Ekstrom, spokeswoman for the King
County Elections division. A November ballot question also could spare
Metro from planning big service cuts that it ultimately may not have to make.
Other factors loom. In November, a car-tab fee would compete with other
measures such as Seattle's proposed $231 million Families and Education tax
levy. The Seattle City Council may also ask voters in November for up to $80
per vehicle in extra car-tab fees to improve transit and mobility in the
city. (The county's $14.5 million Veterans and Human Services Levy will be
on the August primary ballot.)
In any case, approving the fees is still just a two-year reprieve. But it
would buy time for the economy to rebound and for advocates to "make the
case to the Legislature that we need a long-term solution," said Rob Johnson
, executive director of the Transportation Choices Coalition.
Without the fees, Metro's cuts would mean running some routes less
frequently, dropping some low-ridership routes, more crowding on popular
commuter lines, and more riders making transfers to reach their destinations
. "And that's significant," Johnson said, "to the 350,000 people who get on
and off Metro buses every day."
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2015361295_cart |
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