Link Approves 2020 Budget

The Link Transit Board of Directors passed their 2020 budget Tuesday night in a well-attended and vocal meeting at Columbia Station.

The board passed its minutes from their previous meeting, meaning that staff are now free to move forward with many of the plans attributed to the recent Prop 1 sales tax increase approved by the voters in 2019. Those plans include new routes, expanded times for existing routes, and expanded weekend service.

Link's 2020 operating budget will increase by $3,730,930, or roughly 24% from 2019.

Thirteen additional coach operators will be hired, as well as four more members of operations support, three maintenance workers, a human resource aid, a planning services manager, and a planning assistant.

Vice Chair Mia Bretz said concerns from some board members were not enough to indefinitely delay the process of assigning funds from the sales tax increase.

"We are a 'lifeline system'. We are a low-funded system that's just serving the bare minimum. Our voters just said 'We want more than that. We want to be more than a lifeline system, so we're ready for an upgrade.' That's what we want to propose to the people." Bretz stated, "So yes, let's take a look (at inefficiencies), but also let's not delay."

Wenatchee resident Jack Case says he has a bus stop feet from his house, and he believes the voters were not given the right information in 2019.

"I decided to do a little study. On December 26th: 33 buses, four passengers. Two weeks ago Tuesday I did the same thing and there was 36 buses and eleven passengers. I'm in the middle of three routes." Case explained, "It just seems like it's a lot of waste. A lot of wasted space."

Board members Kyle Steinberg, Kevin Overbay, and Marc Straub all voted against the approval of the minutes, and therefore the budget, with Overbay previously saying he doesn't want to expand service upon an inefficient system.