Monday, November 16, 2009

At today’s Committee of the Whole, committee members
• Discussed a motion accepting the superior court targeted facility master plan (Motion 2009-0329). No action was taken on the motion, which remains in committee.  

At today’s Council meeting, councilmembers:
• Adopted tax-neutral financing that maintains Metro bus service despite the recessionary decline in revenues by reprioritizing property tax revenues and approving Metro's proposal for a small fare increase in 2011. Under new authority granted by the state Legislature, the Council approved a property tax levy of 6.5 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation to fund transit service, accompanied with a 25-cent fare increase to be implemented in January 2011 for all riders except youth passengers. The county budget set for Council adoption next week also includes a number of operational efficiencies identified by the Council earlier this year.

Taken together, the actions today and next week will enable Metro to avoid the threatened cut of 310,000 hours of bus service over the next two years, keep its commitment to implement Rapid-Ride bus rapid transit lines promised under the voter-approved “Transit Now” initiative for five busy transportation corridors, and add a sixth line from Burien to Renton.

Property owners will see no net change in their property tax under today’s action because the Board of the King County Ferry District voted last week to sharply reduce the Ferry District’s assessment to approximately one-third of a cent per $1,000 of assessed valuation, down from the original rate of 5.5 cents per $1,000 set in 2007. (Ordinance 2009-0567 and Ordinance 2009-0572).

• Adopted a motion naming a panel of 12 community leaders to evaluate candidates for appointment to the Council seat that will become vacant when Council Chair Dow Constantine is sworn in as King County Executive (Motion 2009-0616).

Read more about the legislation on the King County Council’s LEGISEARCH system
and entering the item numbers above.