Metropolitan King County Council 516 Third Ave., Rm. 1200 Seattle, WA 98104 Phone: 206-296-1000 Toll Free: 800-325-6165 TTY/TDD: 206-296-1024 Fax: 206-296-0198 council@kingcounty.gov
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Nov. 3, 2008 Council suspends “Walk and Bike” employee incentive program to save money in general fundDowntown employees had been offered $20 a month to walk or bike to workIn light of the $93 million deficit facing King County in 2009, the Metropolitan King County Council today postponed a new program introduced by the County Executive that would have offered a $20 incentive to downtown County employees to walk or ride their bikes to work.
“While I strongly support King County’s existing incentives to promote alternative commutes, this is not the time to increase spending,” said Councilmember Larry Phillips, chair of the Council’s 2009 Budget Review and Adoption Committee. “The Executive announced the expansion of this voucher program just weeks before unveiling massive service cuts and layoffs in order to close King County’s $93 million budget deficit. We must keep the public’s priorities in mind and hold the line on spending for perks.”
The “Walk and Bike Incentive Program” offered King County employees who work in downtown Seattle $20 for every month in which they either walked or rode a non-motorized bicycle for more than 50 percent of their work trips. Based on the 155 employees who had registered for the program since it was first announced on September 15, the incentive could have drawn as much as much as $37,000 a year from the County general fund.
“We need to weigh all programs in light of public safety and service delivery to citizens. The timing for this is just not right,” said Councilmember Kathy Lambert, another co-sponsor. “We hope that many of our employees will continue to bike and walk to work, even without the financial incentive. We continue to build on alternate commute advances we’ve made already.”
The legislation adopted by the Council prohibits changes to the current King County Employee Transportation Plan, including the extension of the walk and bike incentive to downtown workers, until the Executive transmits and the Council adopts an update to that plan. The Council gave the Executive a deadline of Jan. 31, 2009 to transmit that update.
To reduce commute trips, King County currently provides bus passes, bike lockers, worksite showers, and alternative commute vouchers to employees outside the Seattle Central Business District. The scarcity and cost of parking along with high fuel prices also provide a financial incentive for employees to walk, ride, take the bus or carpool to downtown Seattle work sites.
In a Sept. 29 letter to the County Executive, the Council’s budget leadership team identified suspension of the “Bike and Walk Incentive Program” as one of 12 steps King County could immediately take to save money and reduce the general fund deficit in 2009 and beyond.
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