What are some of the budget cuts that Seattle Mayor Nickels has proposed?”
Most King County Metro Transit service cuts would hit Seattle, but most eventual new service would go to the suburbs, under current policies. Now, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels wants to change that. Seattle and its immediate surroundings would feel most of the cuts because that’s where 60 percent of the current service is, and Metro policies require cuts be made in proportion to current service levels. Cuts are coming because Metro has a $168-million budget gap for 2010 and 2011. But when Metro eventually restores service, another policy will require 40 percent of the new hours to go east of Lake Washington and 40 percent to South King County, leaving just 20 percent for Seattle and the immediate area. That policy, known as “20/40/40,” aims to decrease Seattle’s high share of Metro service over time. So $100 million in cuts would mean $60 million in service lost from Seattle and Shoreline, but getting that back would require $300 million in new service systemwide, noted Seattle Transit Bl
The Seattle Public Library could see its capital budget reduced by two thirds under a series of budget cuts proposed by Mayor Greg Nickels. Seattle Mayor Unveils Latest Budget Cuts 04/14/2009 The Seattle Public Library could see its capital budget reduced by two thirds under a series of budget cuts proposed by Mayor Greg Nickels. The City’s finance director appeared before the City Council on Monday, with a list of dozens of projects the Mayor wants to delay or to cut. They are all funded by the city’s real estate excise tax. That’s a tax you pay whenever you buy or sell a property. The money goes for capital improvements and major maintenance projects. Last year, the city projected the real estate market would slow and that excise tax receipts would be down. But according to Finance Director Dwight Dively, the slowdown was steeper than expected. Dively: “So we’ve gone down from roughly 67 to 43 for a difference of about $24 million in the revenue forecast for this biennium. That $24 m
