Monday, December 15^th, at 6:00 p.m. over Zoom details to follow.

The Ferry Committee plans to meet in person at the Hall during this time to facilitate more discussion.

Unfortunately, this meeting is being held after the county has already adopted its 2026 ferry budget and approved next year’s fare increases. Because of this timing, it’s not yet clear whether the upcoming meeting will meaningfully shape decisions or simply explain what has already been decided.

Still, this meeting is an important opportunity for us — the riders who rely on the Guemes Ferry — to speak up, ask clear questions, and reinforce the need for transparency, accuracy, and accountability moving forward.

To help everyone prepare, below is a list of major questions our community will be asking the Ferry Division in advance. These questions focus on budget inconsistencies, misclassified expenses, lost federal funding, and the public process itself — all issues that directly affect next year’s fares and the long-term sustainability of our ferry system.

Key Questions Riders Are Asking the Ferry Division

1. Why hold the required annual meeting after the budget and fare increases were approved?

How will public input matter if the decisions are already made? Will next year’s meeting be held before fare-setting so it actually influences the process?

2. Why were clear capital improvements — including engine foundation design, structural modifications, and exhaust system redesign — charged to Operations & Maintenanceinstead of capital?

Misclassified expenses inflate O&M and thereby inflate fares. Will the county correct this going forward?

3. Why did the county fail to file the federal ferry census, causing the loss of roughly $600,000–$1,000,000 in Ferry Boat Formula funding?

Will the county commit to crediting that amount back to the ferry budget so riders aren’t forced to pay for an administrative error the public did not make?

4. How will the new fare methodology prevent inflated or inaccurate expenditures from automatically driving future fare increases?

What safeguards are in place to ensure the numbers being fed into the formula are correct?

5. What concrete steps is Public Works taking to reduce delays, cost overruns, and repeated deferrals of maintenance that ultimately become more expensive for riders?

6. Why has the ferry budget not undergone the same cost-discipline measures applied countywide?

Other departments are facing hiring freezes, furloughs, vehicle purchase delays, and staffing reductions — why is the ferry budget treated as exempt from these measures?

7. Will the county commit to publishing quarterly ferry financial reports, clearly separating O&M from capital, so the public can verify the data used in fare-setting?

Why These Questions Matter

Accurate accounting is not a technicality — it directly affects what you pay.

When capital costs are mislabeled as O&M, when federal funds are lost, when maintenance is deferred only to become more expensive later, or when projections are inconsistent across county documents, the result is the same: higher fares for riders, regardless of whether those fares are justified.

This meeting is our opportunity to request clarity, ask for corrections, and ensure the county understands that ferry riders are paying attention — and expect a transparent, responsible budgeting process.

How You Can Participate

• Attend the virtual meeting (details to follow as soon as they are published).
• Attend the In person meeting at the Hall  Monday, December 15^th, at 6:00 p.m
• Submit questions in advance — especially if the meeting format limits live discussion.
• Encourage neighbors to join, since decisions being made now will affect 2026 and beyond.
• Stay engaged: transparency only improves when the public is watching.

If you’d like to collaborate on questions or need help drafting a submission, feel free to reach out.

Thank you for caring about the future of our ferry system.

Together, we can help ensure it remains reliable, fiscally sustainable, and fair for everyone who depends on it.