It appears a foot ferry will not be coming to Des Moines soon after the King County Ferry District Board of Supervisors voted unanimously last week to reduce the ferry district levy for 2010, limiting King County Water Taxi service to the two existing routes serving West Seattle and Vashon Island from downtown Seattle.

Des Moines was one of demonstration cities that will be postponed.

King County Executive Kurt Triplett thanked the Metropolitan King County Council acting as the ferry district board for dramatically reducing the county ferry district's property tax. The action leaves open the possibility of a dedicated Metro transit tax at no net increase to property owners.

"I congratulate the ferry district supervisors for taking this important action," said Triplett. "This vote clears the way to save transit services for millions of riders annually."

Boardmember Jane Hague said, "In light of tight economic times and the transit crisis King County is facing, we hope that these savings will allow us to preserve bus service, Estimates show that these savings could translate into more than 180,000 hours of bus service."

"By sharply reducing the property tax levy for ferries, we are able to prioritize preserving basic bus service without raising taxes during this tough economic time for King County families," said boardmember Larry Phillips. "Using reserves to preserve existing passenger ferry service while using levy dollars to stabilize bus service gives us time to have a vital regional conversation about the future of our entire transit system."

"This action allows us to continue service on the popular West Seattle route which will be a lifeline for many commuters once construction begins on the Alaskan Way Viaduct," said ferry district chairman Dow Constantine. "The ferry district will be seeking mitigation funding from the state to help expand this service during the construction period."

The adopted levy lowers the property tax rate for the ferry district to $1.18 million, translating to approximately 1/3 of one cent per $1,000 of assessed valuation to be collected in 2010. This new rate amounts to approximately $1.20 per year for a $400,000 home. The original rate, set in 2007, was 5.5 cents per $1,000 assessed valuation.

The levy reduction action provides the option to the county council to add a property tax for Metro Transit bus service to offset proposed bus service reductions, without additional financial impacts to King County taxpayers.

"Our county government, like governments across the country, is experiencing a financial crisis. Shrinking dollars force us to make difficult decisions, and the ferry district acted today to prioritize essential bus transit service over passenger-only ferry demonstration routes," said Boardmember Julia Patterson. "Providing residents of five cities with potential ferry routes just doesn't rise to the same level of importance as supplying 118 million yearly bus trips to riders all over King County."

"During these tough economic times, it is appropriate for the ferry district to use its reserves to stay afloat," said boardmember Bob Ferguson. "Today's vote prioritizes our most essential services."

The ferry district is a special purpose government created to provide passenger ferry service in King County. The board is composed of the members of the county council. The King County Marine Division operates the service under the name King County Water Taxi.

For more information, visit www.kingcountyferries.org.