Last week the King County Council voted unanimously to approve the county’s first biennial (two-year) budget, a $9 billion plan that includes funding to maintain existing bus service for the next two years.
Councilmember Joe McDermott, who chairs the Budget and Fiscal Management Committee and represents Vashon, said he is proud of the budget, but noted there is more to do.
“Our work will continue in the coming years as we work with partners to find more sustainable ways to provide and fund critical services,” he said in a press release.
Deep cuts to Metro’s service throughout King County were proposed earlier this year, though Vashon was spared the worst of the cuts and was not slated to see reductions until September of 2015. Those cuts, which included modest service reductions to routes 118, 119 and 116 Express, will no longer take place as scheduled. Additional pending cuts throughout Metro’s system have also been cancelled.
County representatives attribute Metro’s ongoing efficiency gains, recent projections of lower fuel costs and other financial improvements with enabling the council to adopt a budget that eliminates the need for the service reductions.
The proposed Metro cuts created deep concern in affected areas, and earlier this month Seattle voters approved funding for additional bus service. The City of Seattle will purchase Metro service through the county’s new Community Mobility Contracts Program. Seattle will expand service on Metro routes that serve the city by about 10 percent.
However, county representatives say that the need remains for long-term funding that meets King County’s current and future demand for bus service.
According to King County Metro, 15 percent more bus service is needed today — and ridership is growing. Although Metro’s budget will maintain the current service level for two years, and Seattle funding extends through 2020, neither enable sustainable long-term growth in transit service. County leaders have pledged to continue working for a transportation funding solution.
State Sen. Sharon Nelson, (D-Maury Island), who earlier this year stressed the need for more transit, not less, summed up in one word her feelings about the budget news: “Great,” she said.
She noted that it is possible that a transportation package will be taken up in Olympia when the legislative session convenes in January. She also made clear, however, her priorities will be on education in part because of the state Supreme Court’s McCleary Decision requiring the Legislature to fully fund education by 2018 and the passing of Initiative 1351, which sets lower class sizes.
