Opposition has surfaced on the King County Council to the push by Gov. Chris Gregoire to form a regional ferry district.

Council members Reagan Dunn and Peter von Riechbauer said in a statement that “the ferry system has been a state responsibility for a century. This plan would create another level of government and further balkanize transportation funding, which is a solution we don’t need. In addition, it would require a massive tax increase to pay for existing services.

Gregoire would have residents of King, Pierce, Snohomish, Kitsap, Clallum, Jefferson, Island, San Juan and Skagit counties pay a tax to support ferry service.

“In 2007, the state forced King County into creation of a local ferry district by threatening to cut passenger-only ferry service,” the two council members said. “That has not been a successful experiment and should not be repeated,” they added.

Dunn and von Reichbauer said that Gregoire and legislative leaders need to sit down and “work through their own problems without dumping them on local governments.”

Counties across the state are already dealing with a long list of unfunded mandates and potential cuts to state funding for public health and many other programs, they said.

“This is a Trojan horse that should not be permitted. King County is struggling to maintain basic services and we do not need nor can we afford this,” the council members said.