Sims, Vance announce sweeping plan to deliver more efficient bus and road services

Recognizing the need to take bold new steps to maximize the county’s ability to reduce traffic congestion and deliver more efficient Metro Transit bus service to the public, King County Executive Ron Sims and County Council Transportation Committee Chair Chris Vance today announced a plan that cuts transportation administrative and support services by at least $14.6 million annually. The efficiency package will allow the county to use the savings to help preserve Metro Transit bus service and expand road investments.

The plan, designed to help absorb deep revenue losses created by I-695, will cut 149 positions from the county's Transportation Department and eliminate various indirect public services. Affected county employees will begin receiving layoff notices within a couple of weeks. Additional staffing and service reductions will follow this proposed round of cuts if additional transportation funding does not become available in 2001. The plan preserves an estimated 192,000 hours of Metro Transit bus service and delivers about $860,000 worth of additional road services.

"While current and future reductions will make it more difficult to carry out day-to-day administrative and support functions, I have directed my transportation department to use every means and tool available to maintain direct transit service and road improvements the public demands," Sims said. "This plan builds on efforts we've already taken to change the way we do business. By working leaner and more efficiently, we will make every attempt to make these reductions as seamless as possible."

"The public will never trust us with more funding for transportation until they know we are spending the money we already have wisely," said Vance. "These efficiencies are a huge step toward creating that public confidence."

Sims and Vance thanked employees from the Department of Transportation for their contributions to developing the efficiency plan - a plan that eliminates some of their own jobs and those of their colleagues.

"These employees whose jobs have been cut have done outstanding work for the public and the cuts in no way reflect their ability or that of the department," Sims added. "Financial conditions simply require that certain work be done differently." He said the county will help affected employees find other jobs.

The efficiency package calls for the following annualized staffing and budget reductions within the Department of Transportation:

• Eliminating the Department's Transportation Planning Division and reducing the division's 55-member work force by 28 by the end of 2000. The remaining 27 positions will be reassigned to other county divisions saving more than $2 million. Transportation planning work will continue to be carried out in these newly reorganized divisions.
• Reducing the Community and Administrative Services Division by seven positions to 21 employees, saving $800,000.
• Eliminating 28 administrative positions in the Transit Division, saving about $2.4 million.
• Reducing overhead, capital projects and customer service and support functions not directly affecting bus operations will trim an additional 86 positions by the end of 2001 for a savings of $9.4 million.

These proposed cuts build on efficiency measures and budget reductions begun by Sims earlier this year. Those efficiencies included eliminating Metro Transit's least productive service (four percent of all bus routes), initiating a department-wide hiring freeze and deferring some transit capital projects.

The transfer of savings to prop-up direct service will help offset a $110 million loss of revenue for Metro Transit following the passage of I-695. Earlier this year, the State Legislature also authorized a temporary one-time contribution of $36 million to help fund local bus service through next March while the County considers local solutions to fill the gap. Deeper reductions in service will be necessary if a longer term funding strategy isn't found.

The Sims/Vance efficiency package will be part of the Executive's 2001 budget proposal.

Updated: June 13, 2000