Drafter
Clerk 02/17/2015
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AN ORDINANCE regarding a transit service funding agreement with the city of Seattle, approving the agreement and requiring a report to the council.
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STATEMENT OF FACTS:
1. Strategy 6.3.1 of the King County Metro Transit Strategic Plan for Public Transportation 2011-2021, adopted on August 30, 2013, identifies partnerships with local jurisdictions and businesses as a potential revenue source to support transit service.
2. On November 4, 2014, voters in the city of Seattle passed Proposition 1, which will raise revenue through annual vehicle license fees and sales and use tax revenues to stabilize and support transit service in the city of Seattle.
3. In accordance with the objective of the strategic plan to secure sustainable funding for short-term transportation needs, Metro and the city of Seattle are prepared to enter into a fully revenue-backed service agreement to provide city financial support that would support transit service in the city of Seattle beginning with the June 2015 service change.
4. The agreement is the first of its kind between the county and a city, as it makes an investment of over two hundred twenty thousand service hours and affecting over fifty routes serving the city of Seattle. It expected that this agreement may serve as a template for contracts with other cities that desire to fund substantial transit service within their corporate boundaries. This agreement is entered into based on estimated service to be provided by Metro and costs to be paid by the city of Seattle, with actual reconciliation to be undertaken after the service is provided. Reporting on the actual service provided under this agreement will inform the efficacy of this agreement form for the potential future extensions of this agreement or for agreement with other cities.
5. The King County Metro service guidelines establish, as the highest priorities for new transit service investments, bus routes with crowding and on-time performance needs identified in the annual service guidelines reports.
6. On February 10, 2015, the Seattle City Council's Transportation committee recommended approval of the agreement and also to acknowledge as a city priority the need to address crowding and reliability through additional city investments during the course of the agreement.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. The Transit Service Funding Agreement between King County and the city of Seattle, in substantially the form as described in Attachment A to this ordinance, is hereby approved.
SECTION 2. A. In October 2016, the executive shall provide a report on the performance of service under the Transit Services Funding Agreement between King County and the city of Seattle along with Metro's Annual Service Guidelines Report. The report shall include:
1. A list of routes and investments by time period included in the agreement;
2. A description of any transit service changes made since the previous service guidelines reporting period to routes funded under the agreement;
3. The performance of transit services by route funded under the agreement and any changes in the service guidelines thresholds since the previous reporting period; and
4. A description of how services funded under the agreement are in alignment with or different from the strategic plan for public transportation and service guidelines.
B. The report shall be filed with the clerk of the council in the form of a paper and an electronic copy with the clerk of the council, who shall forward electronic copies to all councilmembers.
SECTION 3. It is the goal of the city and county to reduce crowding and improve reliability with the additional city service investments during the course of the agreement, consistent with the priorities of the King County Metro Service Guidelines and the
Seattle Transit Master Plan. The city and county further have the goal of responding flexibly to ridership demands during the course of the agreement.