The Reporter
A budget for next year for King County that preserves some Sheriff Department services, the county fair and other programs that were the targets of possible cuts has been approved by the County Council.
The $4.9 billion budget, formally adopted Monday, closes a $93 million gap in the budget while still covering public safety and health, according to council members.
But they also authorized cuts of 60 sheriff deputy positions and 20 jobs under the prosecuting attorney.
Council members also said the Legislature should lift restrictions on revenue sources for counties in order to avoid more budget shortfalls in years to come.
The final budget is “substantially” different from County Executive Ron Sims’ proposals, said Councilman Larry Phillips, chairman of the council’s budget committee. “Now the hard work truly begins if we are to prevent catastrophic cuts in 2010 to criminal justice, public health and human services. I pledge to join together with the elected leaders of King County (and) citizens to make our case in Olympia for a long-term solution to our cunty’s revenue crisis.”
The budget, with a general fund of $627.8 million, makes cuts to the Sheriff Department, the prosecuting attorney’s and the courts, provides only six months of funding to many public health programs, and closes county government for 10 days next year with an unpaid employee furlough. The budget also provides only six months of funding or $3.5 million for programs mandated by the state but not accompanied with any revenues, officials noted.
At the same time, the budget restores “full funding for alternative sentencing programs that help criminal justice and human services work together to save money, reduce recidivism and change lives,” said Councilwoman Kathy Lambert. “We also restored important local government services to rural residents by keeping sheriff’s office storefronts and units that fight drug and gang activities, and by maintaining agriculture and forestry units that support our valuable natural resources.”
To fund those priorities, the budget makes more than $10 million in one-time reductions to funds for future maintenance needs, some technology projects, and lower-priority programs.
For public safety, the budget includes 19 positions for the Sheriff Department to:
• Keep open all storefront offices in the unincorporated areas of the county.
• Participate in regional drug, firearm, and gang task forces.
• Pay for major-accident detectives who also support major crime scene investigations such as homicides.
• Maintain security at courthouses.
• Restores full-year funding for the Superior Court’s successful Drug Diversion Court and Unified Family Court Services.
• Fund street booking at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, so that police in south King County can book inmates there instead of the county jail in downtown Seattle.
For health, the council’s version of the budget continues full–year funding for all public health centers. Sims had proposed funding some clinics for only six months and others for the full year.
Council members said public health is one of the areas of government service that needs the Legislature to provide better funding methods.
Councilman Reagan Dunn, whose district includes Maple Valley, Covington and Black Diamond, has criticized the county for tapping its fiscal reserves but noted “by not spending all of our reserves” to help offset 2009’s anticipated shortfall, “we left the budget in a better position for what could be a very difficult 2010.” He also praised the creation of a work group to study the start of a rainy-day fund.
He also said preserving certain Sheriff Department allocations prevents the possibility of more crime.
And Dunn applauded the council’s decision to keep $318,000 for fair operations, the same figure that was in this year’s budget. Sims, citing lagging attendance and rising costs, had suggested canceling the 145-year-old fair.
Dunn added that work remains to make the fair viable.
Sheriff Sue Rahr and Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg have outspokenly opposed the cuts in their departments, saying the reduced manpower will make law enforcement and criminal justice harder to carry out.
Sims indicated he supports the council’s decisions and will sign the budget. He noted the general fund portion approved by the council is about $10 million different than his original proposals.
He said he’ll continue asking the state for more flexibility in existing revenue sources and long-term funding for public health services.
