[nfbwatlk] FW: King County Council Metro Transit Hearings

Thu Jun 30 23:26:49 UTC 2011

From: King County Metro Transit [mailto:kcmetro-alerts at service.govdelivery.com]
Sent: Thursday, June 30, 2011 3:28 PM
To: Nightingale, Noel
Subject: King County Council Metro Transit Hearings

The first public hearing on a proposed congestion reduction charge
and possible transit service cuts is in Kirkland on July 6.

Due to the dramatic recession-driven drop in sales tax revenues, Metro Transit is facing a
$60 million annual deficit between revenues and the cost of providing current levels of transit
service. To close this budget shortfall, King County has a choice of cutting 17 percent of transit
service—taking the system back to 1996 service levels—or preserving current service levels by
enacting a $20 congestion reduction charge on vehicles in King County.

The Metropolitan King County Council’s Transportation, Economy and Environment Committee will
host three special evening hearings to hear public testimony on the proposed transit service reduction
and the Metro Transit budget crisis. These meetings are an opportunity for you to learn about the
proposals and weigh in on the future of Metro transit.

The meetings will be held in Kirkland, Seattle and Burien:

Wednesday, July 6, 6:00 p.m.
Kirkland City Council Chambers
123 Fifth Avenue

Tuesday, July 12, 6:00 p.m.
King County Council Chambers
516 Third Avenue, 10th Floor, Seattle

Thursday, July 21, 6:00 p.m.
Burien City Council Chambers
400 S.W. 152nd Street

In the past two years, Metro Transit has transformed its operations to hold off these cuts and wrench
every available dollar out of the agency for service, including:
- Achieving new scheduling efficiencies;
- Eliminating more than 100 staff positions;
- Deferring planned service expansion;
- Reducing operating reserves, and
- Reducing its capital program.

In addition, riders are sharing the pain; since 2007, Metro has raised fares four times, an increase of
80 percent. Metro's employees were also part of the solution: negotiating cost-cutting labor agreements
that will reduce Metro's costs by $17 million per year.

Despite these fare increases, budget reductions, and operational efficiencies, it is not enough to cover the
anticipated shortfall and we are now nearly out of tools to save our system. The savings and efficiencies
created by Metro over the past few years save approximately $147 million per year, but the drop in sales
tax revenues means Metro still faces an operating shortfall of $60 million a year each year from 2012
through 2015.

The State Legislature has authorized a tool that is available to King County to help maintain Metro service
at its current level: a temporary $20 Congestion Reduction Charge on vehicle licenses for a two–year period
ending in mid-2014. County Executive Constantine has sent that proposal to the County Council as well as
two other pieces of legislation:
- An ordinance approving a Congestion Reduction Plan, a prerequisite for Council action on a
  Congestion Reduction Charge, and
- An ordinance cutting 100,000 hours of Metro bus service effective February 2012 and directing
  Metro to plan for reducing bus service by an additional 500,000 service hours in the 2012-2013
  budget.

Metro Transit service is critical to the economy<http://links.govdelivery.com:80/track?type=click&enid=bWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTEwNjMwLjE4MjI3NTEmbWVzc2FnZWlkPU1EQi1QUkQtQlVMLTIwMTEwNjMwLjE4MjI3NTEmZGF0YWJhc2VpZD0xMDAxJnNlcmlhbD0xMjc2OTAzMzM1JmVtYWlsaWQ9bm9lbC5uaWdodGluZ2FsZUBlZC5nb3YmdXNlcmlkPW5vZWwubmlnaHRpbmdhbGVAZWQuZ292JmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&&&100&&&http://www.kingcounty.gov/exec/news/release/2011/June/09Chamber.aspx> of King County, providing approximately 110 million rides<http://links.govdelivery.com:80/track?type=click&enid=bWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTEwNjMwLjE4MjI3NTEmbWVzc2FnZWlkPU1EQi1QUkQtQlVMLTIwMTEwNjMwLjE4MjI3NTEmZGF0YWJhc2VpZD0xMDAxJnNlcmlhbD0xMjc2OTAzMzM1JmVtYWlsaWQ9bm9lbC5uaWdodGluZ2FsZUBlZC5nb3YmdXNlcmlkPW5vZWwubmlnaHRpbmdhbGVAZWQuZ292JmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&&&101&&&http://www.kingcounty.gov/exec/news/release/2011/June/28Ridership.aspx>
annually, taking hundreds of thousands of cars off the road each day, and helping people get to and from
some of the largest employment and activity centers in our state. More information about Metro’s financial
crisis and the Congestion Reduction Charge is available on the King County website<http://links.govdelivery.com:80/track?type=click&enid=bWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTEwNjMwLjE4MjI3NTEmbWVzc2FnZWlkPU1EQi1QUkQtQlVMLTIwMTEwNjMwLjE4MjI3NTEmZGF0YWJhc2VpZD0xMDAxJnNlcmlhbD0xMjc2OTAzMzM1JmVtYWlsaWQ9bm9lbC5uaWdodGluZ2FsZUBlZC5nb3YmdXNlcmlkPW5vZWwubmlnaHRpbmdhbGVAZWQuZ292JmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&&&102&&&http://www.kingcounty.gov/exec/news/release/2011/June/20Metro.aspx>.

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www.kingcounty.gov/metro<http://links.govdelivery.com:80/track?type=click&enid=bWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTEwNjMwLjE4MjI3NTEmbWVzc2FnZWlkPU1EQi1QUkQtQlVMLTIwMTEwNjMwLjE4MjI3NTEmZGF0YWJhc2VpZD0xMDAxJnNlcmlhbD0xMjc2OTAzMzM1JmVtYWlsaWQ9bm9lbC5uaWdodGluZ2FsZUBlZC5nb3YmdXNlcmlkPW5vZWwubmlnaHRpbmdhbGVAZWQuZ292JmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&&&104&&&http://www.kingcounty.gov/metro>

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________________________________
This email was sent to noel.nightingale at ed.gov using GovDelivery, on behalf of: King County Department of Transportation • 201 S Jackson St. • Seattle, WA 98104 • 206-684-1955

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