Drafter
Clerk 12/16/2013
title
AN ORDINANCE creating a countywide transportation benefit district in King County, Washington, in order to finance the acquisition, construction, operation, maintenance and preservation of public transportation facilities, services and programs, roads and any other projects authorized by chapter 36.73 RCW.
body
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. Findings:
A. The 2008 recession had a deep and enduring impact to the economy in King County, causing property and sales tax revenues that finance government transportation services to drop unexpectedly.
B. As the largest labor market in the state, failure of the transportation system in King County will have far reaching economic impacts across Washington.
C. The King County transit division ("Metro") is vital to the region's economic health. Metro provided over one hundred fifteen million passenger trips in 2012 with ridership expected to grow; more than one thousand five hundred companies provide transit passes to their employees; over half of Metro's passengers are commuters; and current service levels keep approximately one hundred seventy-five thousand cars off our roads every weekday.
D. Sales tax currently provides for sixty percent of Metro's operating budget, and reductions in property tax revenue and the lack of growth in gas tax revenue will limit key funding sources for city and unincorporated King County transportation projects.
E. The twenty-dollar congestion reduction charge authorized in Ordinance 17169 in 2011 was a temporary measure while sustainable funding solutions were developed. King County's authority for this implemented funding source expires May 31, 2014.
F. In 2011, the King County council adopted the landmark King County Metro Transit Strategic Plan for Public Transportation and Service Guidelines that established a new course that prioritizes productivity, social equity and geographic value in the ongoing d...

Click here for full text