PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson Transit directors are planning for service cutbacks while hoping that voters approve a measure that will make them unnecessary.
The board, which has placed a 0.3 percent sales tax increase on the Feb. 8 special election ballot, is expected to approve a 2011 budget Dec. 28 that does not include projections of revenue from the proposed tax increase.
That will mean decreasing public bus operation from 450 to 350 hours per week, resulting in cutting back routes and eliminating Sunday service, Executive Director Peggy Hanson said.
At a special meeting Tuesday, the board received from Hanson and Finance Manager Sara Crouch projections of a $3.8 million budget in 2011, down from this year’s budget of $4.1 million.
Transit board directors are expected to approve a final budget at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 28, at Mountain View Commons, 1919 Blaine St., Port Townsend.
Proposed cuts would not affect service in West Jefferson County, where the bus service is considered a “lifeline” for residents of Forks.
Hanson told the board that, if the system were to implement cuts in the western part of the county, cuts in the eastern portion would be less severe.
Voters will be asked Feb. 8 to approve a 0.3 percent sales tax increase, which would add 3 cents of new sales tax to every $10 purchase.
Passage of the measure would mean no cuts in service, Hanson has said.
The measure, which would not add new revenue to Jefferson Transit until September, would generate about $1.1 million for Jefferson Transit, according to projections.
If the measure passes, it will bring the Jefferson County sales tax rate to 9 percent.
There are enough reserves to keep the system going without cutbacks if the extra funds are forthcoming, Couch said.
If the measure is not approved, preparations for the cutbacks would begin immediately, but they would not take effect for several months, Hanson said.
Hanson had originally favored putting the sales tax measure on the November ballot, but the board — which includes all three Jefferson County commissioners and two members of the Port Townsend City Council — declined to place the measure on the general election ballot because it felt it would compete with Proposition 1, which voters passed Nov. 2 with 56.3 percent of the vote.
The county placed Proposition 1, which raised the sales tax by 0.3 percent to 8.7 percent effective April 1, on the ballot. Sixty percent of the revenue will go toward county programs, with 40 percent to the city of Port Townsend.
Passage of the county’s measure made Jefferson County’s sales tax the highest on the North Olympic Peninsula.
There are several similarities between the proposed transit sales tax increase and the measure that voters approved Nov. 2.
Both add 3 cents to each $10 purchase on nonfood items.
The campaign strategy is the same, with the agency spelling out exactly what the tax will fund and what services will be lost if it is defeated.
Staff members like Hanson will be prohibited from campaigning directly for the measure but can supply information, while the elected board members can advocate it directly.
Hanson said Tuesday that she was in contact with Jefferson County Administrator Philip Morley about his information strategy to provide data without advocating.
Ron Gregory of Port Ludlow said Morley did advocate passage of the sales tax, and he filed a complaint Oct. 30 with the state Public Disclosure Commission.
Investigation of the complaint is on hold until Gregory — who said he acted on his own and not in his capacity as chairman of the county Republican Party — receives all e-mails sent or received by any county employee that made reference to Proposition 1.
County officials determined that 8,485 e-mails qualified.
Unlike the numerous public forums and presentations that Morley made, Jefferson Transit likely will conduct only one or two public hearings about the matter prior to the election, Hanson said.
But that could change.
“If we hold a forum and there are a lot of unanswered questions, we will schedule another one,” she said.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
