Pierce Transit Needs Your Help in Olympia

28 comments

• N nwcolorist February 22, 2013

  Hopefully, someone who goes will let others know what went on at the meeting..

• J Jess smeall February 22, 2013

  you don’t have to rely on hearing it from anyone else…just go to the TVW website & either watch it live or watch it in the archives afterward. such an amazing resource to keep us all informed on state hearings & floor sessions, etc.

• F fredo February 22, 2013

  These people don’t respect the will of the people as expressed at the ballot box. Sad really.

• T tacoma_1 February 22, 2013

  Actually, since both Jake Fey and Jeannie Darnielle represent Tacoma, and Tacoma voted overwhelmingly for transit, they are showing that they do respect the will of Tacoma voters. For that matter, they are respecting Puyallup’s voters too since they would be allowed to not participate and therefore not receive extra transit service.

• D Dan H. February 22, 2013

  This would be very similar to the mental health bill a year ago that allowed tacoma to raise a tax to provide services to mentaly ill without the rest of the county coming along. It makes sense for Tacoma to do these things. Tacoma is a very progressive city (70% in favor of schools and huge support for gay marriage), but it is often frustrated by a county that is purpleish (for Obama, Dem county executive, Rep council majority, against gay marriage). These types of bills allow us to distinguish between parts of the county that are very dissimilar. They recognize the true will of the people in each area.

• J JJ February 22, 2013

  I agree with tacoma_1 here.Those Puyallup voters will get Lahared anyway.

• F fred davie February 23, 2013

  Tacomans overwhelmingly voted for Jay Inslee in the last election. He pledged NO NEW TAXES. Therefore Tacomans were saying they DON’T WANT NEW TAXES. Apparently Fey and Darnielle didn’t get the message.

  This misguided effort to gerrymander tax rates and service levels by voting precinct is just a desperate attempt to funnel more dough to the unions. That’s not “progressive.” It’s just stupid..

• M Mrz February 23, 2013

  It’s become clear to me over the past couple of years that’s Tacoma and Lakewood have far different transit needs from say Puyallup and south hill. The people I these areas are willing to pay for this public service which many felt is needed, while those in outlaying parts of the county and service district feel much differently. Transit wise improved sound transit service with more park and ride lots would serve most of the east county just fine, while Tacoma needs a frequent urban bus system. This will allow Tacoma to have that frequent, urban bus system that they have indicated they want to pay for.

• T tacoma_1 February 23, 2013

  I think we all know that Fred Davie and fredo happen to be the same blogger.

• C Chris February 23, 2013

  What people should know is that this bill will not stop cuts that are slated to occur in September. The time period to implement such a sub-zone taxing district is the better part of a year.

  While this is a good medium term solution to our transit funding crisis, a better stop-gap solution would be to use the City of Tacoma’s transportation benefit district authority to ask the voters of the City of Tacoma whether they want to preserve transit service in Tacoma.

• T tacoma_1 February 23, 2013

  Chris, do u know if the city has talked to PT (or vice versa) to see how much money we would need to raise from a TBD to fund Tacoma with better bus service? I’m all ready to fill my council members email boxes, but think I need some more numbers crunched first.

• J Jesse February 23, 2013

  What are the specifics of this bill? There’s a link but it references other bills in it that I don’t know. From what I understand, this bill will create an opportunity to vote on a sales tax increase for transit in a smaller area of the city so it can get passed? No?

  Why can’t they stop putting transit up for vote as a sales tax add-on and get a better and more stable stream of funding to the voters? How about parking stalls tax? More gas tax? Tabs? Excise? I mean, I’d hate to add more to the sales tax so Tacoma proper is the highest tax rate on the west coast. Does that do the city any good?

• C Chris February 24, 2013

  Jesse- The way it’s described to me, is that the legislature will not authorize additional methods to fund transit service until the previous methods have been exhausted. It’s not my favorite way of doing things. I’d rather use other methods to fund the service – like commercial parking taxes or vehicle license fees – stuff that the City has available to it, but Pierce Transit does not.

  tacoma_1- I am going to be working with Pierce Transit staff to try to provide some hard numbers for service improvements taking into account the City’s available authority from their TBD. I’m told that this is politically difficult, but it’s our only viable short term backup.

• J Jesse February 24, 2013

  @ Chris – If nobody likes the current (unsustainable and unstable) method of funding transit, than it needs to be changed. The very people (legislature) that have convinced you that the current method of funding needs to be exhausted before anything else is explored are the very people who have the power to change those laws. This can be changed. It needs to be changed.

  This sales tax vote reminds me of a trapped house fly. Have you ever had a fly trapped in your home? It tries to get out through the window, right? Have you ever watched a fly do this? It flies into the window time and time again only to lose it’s strength, will, and ultimately it’s life. Don’t be the fly. Take the time and effort to notice the door to the outside is open just a few slightly more effort filled feet away.

  My point is that transit runs the risk of a slow death as long as it insists on having an unstable funding mechanism. It doesn’t matter if this bill passes or not, it’s still unstable. Unstable funding means route changes constantly. That teaches people that they can’t rely on it as their transportation to work. That means that people who could use it, don’t.

• F fred davie February 24, 2013

  “I am going to be working with Pierce Transit staff to try to provide some hard numbers for service improvements taking into account the City’s available authority from their TBD. I’m told that this is politically difficult, but it’s our only viable short term backup.” Chris

  Chris, enough of the half-truths. The TBD is not Pierce Transit’s ONLY VIABLE short term backup. Here are some other viable funding sources unrelated to the TBD.

  1. Raise transit fares.
  2. Eliminate some of the administrative positions.
  3. Transit administrators can agree to salary reductions.
  4. Hourly workers can agree to roll back wages to pre housing bubble levels.

  If transit people aren’t willing to make these simple changes to their routine then apparently they aren’t really serious about service improvements.

• F fred davie February 24, 2013

  Thanks Jesse.

  Compare those salaries to this:

  Tacoma median household income (2011) US Census Bureau:

  $49,232

• T tacoma_1 February 24, 2013

  Well fredo, aka Fred Davie,

  ya probably wanna compare PT salaries to other transit agency salaries if you wanted to be fair about it.

• F fred davie February 24, 2013

  “ya probably wanna compare PT salaries to other transit agency salaries if you wanted to be fair about it.” tacoma1

  My comparison is both fair AND USEFUL. Comparing salaries of various publicly funded transit agencies isn’t really useful. Tacomans should only pay what TACOMANS CAN AFFORD. What other municipalities want to pay their transit workers is of no concern.

  If workers want to pursue careers elsewhere because they perceive that the grass is greener I say…adios. There are plenty of unemployed people out there tacoma_1. Maybe you haven’t heard.

• C Chris February 24, 2013

  I’ve come out in favor of raising fares. That’s something I support. I am also in favor of higher fares for longer distances and for late night service – to help make up for the difference in operating costs.

  I’ve taken a look at PT salaries and they’re comparable to those that I’ve seen throughout the rest of the region. Wage cuts are not a source of long term savings. They’re short-sighted. All you would do is lose your best people to better wages elsewhere in the region.

• J jsisbest February 25, 2013

  We pay our bus drivers more than we pay our teachers and nurses? I love a good bus driver, but I think that we may need to rethink how transit salaries are structured. I’m a progressive, but the pragmatist in me still sees that something isn’t right.

  In terms of the service area of Pierce Transit, the reason rural areas didn’t vote for the Transit Prop was that they don’t see the value in transit because they don’t use it. And they’re right! Public transit is not efficient when it’s servicing areas of our county that don’t have the population density necessary support it. No one is entitled to public transit if they choose to live in an area that is too remote to support the service. Let’s reduce transit to where ridership warrants.

• J Jesse February 25, 2013

  A starting attorney for the county makes $31.94 an hour. That’s someone with seven years of college. Most bus drivers make $27 an hour and have the possibility of overtime. Not that I begrudge them for making a living wage but something here stinks.

• T tacoma_1 February 25, 2013

  Starting transit operators start as relief drivers and earn $19/hr or just over $40K/yr.

  I can’t imagine that recent law grads from havard lining up for a crappy paying county job. Of course the C students from no name colleges might be desperate enough to go for it. Then when the big boy corporations want to thumb their noses at county laws, their top notch attys making 6 figures make the county attys look like numbskulls. We get what we pay for.

• J Jesse February 25, 2013

  You’re right tacoma_1. Not many RECENT Harvard law grads would line up for a crappy county job right away. It usually takes a few years in private practice working every waking hour, for little money, trying to get to partner status for them to decide they want a job where they can sometimes, once in a while, see their family.

  You’re also right that the corporate attorneys can make the county ones look like numbskulls; but it’s not because they’re “C students.” It’s because there are more of them with more support and with more billable hours to spend on each case.

  So ya, you can find some very qualified attorneys working for the municipalities… sometimes just for altruistic reasons alone.

• T tacoma_1 February 25, 2013

  Altruistic lawyer, jumbo shrimp, military intelligence, I could go on….

• T tacoma_1 February 26, 2013

  Amicable divorce, working vacation, minor surgery, altruistic attorney, easy payments, honest politicians…..

• J Jesse February 26, 2013

  @Tacoma_1: So why do you suppose Mark Linquist would want to be the County Prosecuter? Are you saying he can’t get another job as a lead manager of a law firm making more money?

• T tacoma_1 February 26, 2013

  First off, he doesn’t make $32/ hr. Secondly, he probably wants to be governor someday. Thirdly, if he doesn’t become the gov, he can always do what McKenna did and sign up with a law firm for a big salary and 2 martini lunches. Fourth would be the same thing that drives all people at the top – ego. It certainly isn’t altruism.

• F fred davie February 26, 2013

  Newly elected Governor Jay Inslee was elected on a pledge of NO NEW TAXES. Time for you liberals to get on board with the Governors avowed strategy for economic recovery. The voters have spoken.