The King County Council will have a public hearing Tuesday, Feb. 4 in Seattle about a proposal to fund Metro Transit and local roads.
The hearing starts at 6 p.m. in the Ruth Fisher Board Room at Union Station, 401 S. Jackson St.
The council is considering proposed legislation that would form a Transportation Benefit District in order to place a local transportation funding measure on the April ballot. The proposed measure would generate approximately $130 million annually from two revenue sources: a $60 annual vehicle fee and 0.1% increase in sales tax.
Forty percent of the revenue collected from the transportation district would be used for county road and city street improvements, with allocations to each city and unincorporated King County based on population.
A separate proposal calls for adoption of a scheduled fare increase of 25 cents for 2015 and the first-ever reduced fare for low income riders.
In order to maintain existing levels of service, county officials say Metro Transit needs up to $75 million annually in additional revenue.
King County will be required to cut up to 600,000 annual transit service hours beginning later this year if new revenue is not established.
For more information, go to http://www.kingcounty.gov/council.aspx.
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