PORT TOWNSEND — A whistle-stop tour explaining the impact of a proposed sales tax increase occurred Monday, with two public meetings that featured discussions about what will happen if the measure passes or fails.
“With rising costs and diminishing revenues from local sales tax collections, which is our main source of revenue, Jefferson Transit has exhausted most of its reserves,” said Jefferson Transit Executive Director Peggy Hanson during a public hearing in front of the Jefferson County commissioners.
Later in the day, Hanson spoke to the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce at the chamber’s noon membership luncheon.
“Without additional revenues we are at a point where transit services will need to be reduced substantially in order to balance our operating budget,” Hanson told the commissioners at the county’s morning hearing.
Hanson’s appearance before the commissioners was part of a public hearing, which is required by law before the commissioners could pass a resolution endorsing the measure — which they did at the end of the hearing without discussion.
The three commissioners belong to the Jefferson Transit Board of Directors, which approved a resolution in December to place the measure on the Feb. 8 ballot for voter approval.
Proposition 1, as it is known, will increase sales tax 0.3 percent, or three cents for each $10 purchase, and is projected to raise about $1 million for transit operations.
Passing the measure will save current service levels, Hanson has said.
If the measure fails, Sunday bus service would be discontinued, according to Hanson.
The loss of this service would have a significant impact on the working poor, Olympic Community Action Programs Executive Director Tim Hockett told the commissioners.
“The lower your income, the more likely you are to bite and scratch for a job and work nontraditional hours,” Hockett said.
Of the dozen testifying, all but two supported proposal.
Mike Belenski of Port Townsend challenged the 355,000 yearly ridership numbers presented by the transit agency, and said he intends to file a public records request for everything in Hanson’s folder to attain the real numbers.
Belenski also challenged Hanson’s stated neutrality, since there was an advocacy leaflet next to the folder.
“I had to ride the bus once when my car was in the shop and there were two people on the bus — me and another guy,” Belenski said.
“If you have a full bus, you are saving the ecology of the world, but if there are only two people, we may as well be driving. “
Tom Thiersch of Port Townsend also challenged the ridership data and expressed displeasure that there was no expiration date for the measure.
Thiersch said he was opposed to the transit system “getting a million dollars a year forever.
“This sales tax increase will raise around $1 million a year, which is spread across 350,000 riders,” Thiersch said.
“That comes to about $3 a rider, which is a lot of money to carry someone for a short distance, especially since it costs about $2.50 for a cab to take you that distance.”
Realtor Teri Nomura testified in support of the measure, saying that a robust transit system increases real estate values.
“Public transit is a concern, and is one of the reasons people use to decide whether they want to move to this community,” Nomura said.
Hanson took a lighter tone in her talk before the Chamber of Commerce.
She thanked the community for not celebrating an obscure ceremony Sunday during which people boarded public transportation in New York and other East Coast cities without wearing pants.
She also reported the success of a free rides program on New Year’s Eve, which drew nearly 100 riders.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” she said.
“We got a lot of people who hadn’t gone out on New Year’s Eve in many years, and were grateful for the opportunity to go out and celebrate and meet their friends.”
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
