King County is considering a proposal to charge motorists an additional temporary vehicle license fee to avoid substantial cuts to its transit service.

A plan to cut Metro Transit by 17 percent or tack on a $20 vehicle license surcharge to maintain service will be the topic of discussion at three upcoming public hearings, including one in Kirkland, by the King County Council’s Transportation, Economy and Environment Committee.

“King County has a choice of cutting 17 percent of our transit service — taking the system back to 1996 service levels — or preserving current service levels by enacting a $20 congestion reduction charge on vehicles in King County,” council member and committee chair Larry Phillips said in a press release. “These meetings are an opportunity for the public to learn about the proposed service cuts and weigh in on the future of Metro transit.”

Despite an increase in ridership, King County Executive Dow Constantine proposed the cuts recently due to the dramatic recession-driven drop in sales tax revenue. Metro generates revenues from sales tax receipts, with 60 percent of its operating costs covered by those sales tax funds.

With a drop in sales-tax revenue, Metro is facing a $60 million annual deficit between revenues and the cost of providing current level of transit service. That shortfall would require Metro to shrink service by 600,000 hours of annual bus service over the next two years, or 17 percent of the entire system, which is the equivalent of cutting all weekend transit service or all weekday rush-hour bus service for commuters.

The county says the cuts are necessary despite two years of Metro cost-saving efforts, including eliminating more than 100 staff positions and cost-cutting labor agreements. In addition, Metro has raise fares four times, an increase of 80 percent since 2007.

Constantine said the only measure left is to cut services. However, the state Legislature approved a special, two-year  $20 “Congestion Reduction Surcharge” on vehicle licenses that the county could implement to avoid the cuts.

The measure is intended to preserve existing service until longer-term funding solutions can be developed. Without new revenue, Metro will begin making substantial cuts in bus service as early as next February, according to Constantine.

The proposed cuts come at time when ridership is on the rise for Metro, which jumped 5.1 percent in May compared to May of 2010. In addition, from January through May, Metro bus trips jumped 2.4 percent, or nearly 1.1 million trips, over the same period last year.

Constantine said in a press release that the increase in ridership “shows that more people are turning to Metro Transit to get to work as our local economy improves and gas prices hover near $4. Metro has cut costs and raised fares, and now the County Council needs to enact the small, temporary congestion relief charge to keep buses on the road and traffic moving.”

To move forward, the proposal will need to be approved by two-thirds of the council members. The council is targeting a July 25 vote and if the extra vehicle license fee is approved it would begin approximately six months later, according to Phillips’ legislative aide Leah Zoppi.

• Wednesday, July 6: Kirkland City Hall council chambers, 123 Fifth Avenue.

• Tuesday, July 12: King County Courthouse council chambers (10th floor), 516, Third Avenue, Seattle.

• Thursday, July 21: Burien City Hall council chambers, 400 SW 152nd St.

For more information, visit http://metro.kingcounty.gov/am/future/index.html.