King County Councilwoman Julia Patterson released this statement July 20 on Ordinance 2011-0288, the proposal to implement a temporary $20 Congestion Reduction Charge on vehicle licenses for each of the next two years to help maintain Metro Transit service at its current level:

"After finding out today that the proposed Congestion Relief Charge would save the 26,000 service hours scheduled to be cut in Council District 5 as part of the 17 percent reduction of transit service, I am ready to support Executive (Dow) Constantine's proposal.

"This was not an easy decision for me because families are already struggling in this economic recession. Before I gave my support of a fee increase, I needed to make absolutely sure that this proposal did not disproportionately burden the working poor in my district.

"South County residents commute further than anywhere else in King County. They rely heavily on bus service everyday to get them to work and back home to their families.

"Without this critical transportation lifeline we will be forcing more people to get in their cars and they will spend hundreds of dollars a year on gas and vehicle maintenance - a much greater financial impact than a $20 fee."

The council will hold a final public meeting on the proposal on Thursday, July 21, 6 p.m. at Burien City Council Chambers, 400 S.W. 152nd St. More than 700 people attended the previous public hearing.

Read more about this legislation on the King County Council's LEGISEARCH system at
http://mkcclegisearch.kingcounty.gov and type in "2011-0288"