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Next Steps for Metro
On Monday, August 15, the Council passed the $20 Congestion Reduction Charge (CRC) necessary to preserve the current number of service hours in the Metro transit system. The CRC is part of a multi-pronged transit funding plan that maintains current transit service levels while providing transportation alternatives for commuters who may have seen a reduction in bus service in their communities.
In addition to the $20 license tab fee, the adopted ordinance includes a transit incentive program to encourage drivers to use public transportation; right-sizing service through the implementation of transit services options (such as dial a ride) for riders who depend on routes serving lower-density areas; consideration of routes affected by the eventual addition of of tolls on SR-520 and the Alaskan Way Viaduct; and the elimination of the Seattle Ride Free Area by October of 2012.
 Passage of the CRC allows Metro to thoughtfully and fully implement the Strategic Plan for Public Transportation adopted earlier this year. As directed in the CRC ordinance and the Strategic Plan, over the next two years Metro will reduce or eliminate 100,000 service hours on low performing routes and reinvest these resources consistent with Metro’s newly adopted service guidelines. In December, the Executive will transmit a June 2012 Service Change Ordinance that identifies these low performing routes and identify reinvestments.
Read more about the implementation of the CRC legislation on the King County Council’s LEGISEARCH system at http://mkcclegisearch.kingcounty.gov and type in “2011-B0151”. I strongly encourage you to remain engaged on this and other issues of importance to the continued viability of our Metro bus system.
Council Announces Public Hearings for 2012 Budget
The review and deliberation of the 2012 King County Budget began Monday September 26, when the King County Executive delivered his Budget Address to the King County Council. Earlier this year, the County was projecting a $20 million shortfall in the budget, but the Executive proposed a no-cut spending plan that includes funding for assisting survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. The Council needs to hear from the public about the Executive's Proposed Budget and what services/programs they value. I hope you will come to one or more of the three public hearings the Budget Committee is hosting throughout the county. Please come early to sign up to testify.
The three public hearings will be held:
• Thursday, October 13, in Issaquah - Pacific Cascade Middle School, 24635 SE Issaquah-Fall City Rd
• Wednesday, October 19, in Kent - Maleng Regional Justice Center, Courtroom 3F, 401 4th Avenue North
• Tuesday, October 25, in downtown Seattle – King County Courthouse, County Council Chambers, 516 Third Avenue,
10th Floor
All meetings begin at 6:30 p.m. Day-after coverage of the public hearings will be available both online and on King County TV, seen on Comcast and Broadstripe Cable Channel 22. You can follow the deliberations through the Council’s 2012 Budget page at www.kingcounty.gov/council/budget. You can also sign up to follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
I hope to see you at one or more the Budget public hearings.
Alternatives to Incarceration
Alternatives to incarceration are an integral and fiscally as well as socially responsible part of the criminal justice system. King County’s Community Corrections Alternative Program (CCAP) has saved the county millions of dollars. It costs roughly one-third as much as simply incarcerating someone in the King County Jail.
In the late-1990’s, the county was faced with ever increasing criminal justice costs – in fact, without CCAP, the entirety of the county’s General Fund would now be spent on criminal justice programs. As a result, we created CCAP to provide services to the majority of the population in the jail: the mentally ill, homeless, chemically addicted, and low-level, non-violent offenders.
When a person is enrolled in CCAP they may be on electronic home detention or involved with the work or education release program allowing them to continue working or going to school. Others attend intensive outpatient treatment, domestic violence treatment, employment preparation, and other therapeutic support groups.
I support the holistic approach to the criminal justice system taken by King County with the creation of CCAP, instead of a system that only focuses on suppression and incarceration and is not financially sustainable. Not only does this holistic approach save the county money while keeping the public safe, it also provides those involved in the criminal justice system the opportunity to make turn their lives around. To learn more about CCAP, please visit www.kingcounty.gov/courts/detention/community_corrections/programs.
New King County Council Districts
Councilmember Gossett and other members of the Minority
Executive Directors Coalition welcome new University of Washington President Michael Young. |
Every ten years, the Council Districts in King County must change. By law, Council district boundaries must be redrawn after each U.S. Census to make each district as nearly equal in population as possible. The target population for each 2011 Council district is 214,583. All districts in the proposed plan are within one-quarter of one percent of the target.
After working for many months, the King County Districting Committee on Monday voted 5-0 to release a single King County Council redistricting plan for public review and comment. The plan is now online at www.kingcounty.gov/districting.
Please take the time to look at this map and provide the Committee with any comments you may have. The Committee will hold a public hearing on the plan:
Tuesday, November 1, at 6:30-8:30 p.m.
King County Courthouse
Council Chambers
516 Third Avenue, 10th Floor
Seattle, WA 98104
The public may also provide online testimony through October 3. The public hearing is the last phase of public review prior to final action by the Committee.
Gossett Place
On September 14, I attended the grand opening of the newest Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) apartment building, Gossett Place. It is a great honor to have this apartment complex for homeless folks named after me. Located in District 2 in the University District, Gossett Place is a 62- unit apartment building that will serve as a permanent residence for homeless young adults aged 18-25, homeless vets and homeless families, as well as homeless singles and couples. LIHI has partnered with Sound Mental Health to provide on-site support services to residents, including counseling and job training. For more information on the great work of the LIHI, visit www.lihi.org.
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