Oct. 13, 2008
Sims delivers thoughtful, balanced 2009 budget
Calls on state help for all counties with structural deficit
King County Executive Ron Sims today unveiled a $4.9 billion 2009 budget that uses efficiencies, savings, reserves, fees, program cuts, and employee lay-offs to balance a projected $93.4 million General Fund deficit. At $644 million dollars, the proposed 2009 General Fund is $15 million less than 2008, the first time since 2003 the General Fund has been lower than the previous year.
All major program areas see a decrease in 2009. The Executive made $38.2 million in permanent reductions, efficiencies and revenue increases, $13.1 million in salary savings, $5.7 million in overhead savings and used reserves and other changes totaling $15.4 million. The Executive's continued priority funding for criminal justice resulted in that sector of government receiving the smallest percentage of cuts of all service categories. Criminal justice costs will grow to 73 percent of the 2009 General Fund, up from 71 percent in 2008.
In order to avoid making more cuts to vital services, the Executive used $10.5 million in reserves to provide a six-month lifeline for a variety of services, primarily criminal justice, public health and human services. The lifeline services would end June 30, 2009 if the county is unable to get help from the state legislature to spur annexations and give all counties in the state new revenue tools as recommended by a state report.
Sims thanked employees and county labor unions for their ideas and willingness to sacrifice during the budget process that saw the projected deficit grow from $25 million to $93 million as the national and international economy worsened. State limitations on the methods counties can use to generate revenues has made it impossible for counties to cover the cost of inflation in providing vital services such as police, courts, prosecutors, jails, public health and social services.
The slow economy has resulted in a $22.4 million decline in projected sales tax revenues, a $14 million decline in interest earnings, a $12.1 million decline in other revenues and an $8.7 million increase in the cost of living raises for employees for 2009. The cost of providing urban level services to unincorporated areas that are slated for annexations is $20 million more than tax revenues generated by those areas.
Measured approach to preserve critical services
"This is the most painful budget I have undertaken in my tenure as Executive," Sims said. "We scrutinized every agency for efficiencies and savings and when that wasn't enough, we used reserves to create a six-month lifeline to protect some of the most critical services while we seek help in Olympia."
In the General Fund, law, safety and justice budgets were decreased by less than one percent from 2008, health and human services budgets decreased 18 percent, general government was decreased 3.4 percent, and the county's physical environment budget, including surface water management and parks, is down 27 percent.
"While we are making permanent reductions in services, we carefully weighed the consequences of each cut and tried our best to minimize impacts to our residents," Sims said. "We now need to put politics aside and work together for a statewide solution for counties that are hurting from structural deficits that will occur every year unless changes are made."
The King County budget projects General Fund deficits of $40.8 million in 2010 and $62.3 million in 2011.
Jobs and Services cut
Countywide, 390 jobs will be eliminated in 2009. An Executive directive earlier in the year for departments to leave vacancies unfilled in order to reduce the number of layoffs, resulted in approximately 150 vacancies. Approximately 255 positions will be eliminated effective Dec. 31, 2008 and another 135 positions eliminated effective June 30, 2009 if help is not received from the legislature.
The Executive was able to limit the severity of cuts in criminal justice, public health and community and human services to less than target reductions that were assigned in July to meet the forecasted deficit. For example:
- Sheriff's budget, which included $225,000 in new revenue*, was cut $5.2 million and given $2.3 million in lifeline funding instead of the $10 million target cut;
- Public Health was cut $3 million and given $2.3 million in lifeline funding instead of the $12.6 million target cut;
- Community and Human Services was cut $4 million and given a $2.4 million lifeline instead of the $7.8 million target cut;
- Superior Court, which included $895,000 in new revenue*, received a $2.3 million cut and given $500,000 in lifeline funding instead of the $5 million target cut;
- Judicial Administration, which included $265,000 in new revenue*, was cut $1 million and given $360,000 in lifeline funding instead of $2.1 million target cut;
- District Court will raise $1 million in new revenue and was given $653,000 in lifeline funding instead of $2.8 million target cut;
- Adult and Juvenile Detention produced $3.4 million in net new revenue in a contract with the state and will take a $2.3 million cut and was given a $355,000 lifeline instead of the $12 million target;
- Jail Health will be cut $664,000 and given a $17,800 lifeline instead of the $3.2 million target; and
- Prosecuting Attorney's Office will eliminate 26 positions and will see a net reduction of $3 million. The Prosecutor is using his authority to revise filing standards to increase the threshold for certain felonies affecting an expected 4,000 cases next year. This change means felony caseload reductions for the Public Defender and a savings of $3.8 million.
* Updated information added 10/15/08
Metro Transit, which is seeing a major decline in expected sales tax revenues and a huge increase in fuel prices is reducing non-service related functions for a $2 million savings, increasing fares by 50 cents, increasing revenue from advertising, canceling or reducing planned capital projects and reviewing options for selling property not needed for transit operations. Overall, the transit operating budget is increased by $39.1 million, mostly as a result of rising fuel and labor costs and added service.
Water and Land Resources Division, is cutting $800,000 in surface water management, water quality and outreach programs. It was given a $164,000 lifeline for the Agriculture and Forestry programs.
The Parks Division is terminating the King County Fair which has suffered declining attendance. The Evergreen Pool was given $92,000 in lifeline funding. The Executive proposes eliminating use of General Fund money for parks and instead using Annexation Initiative money to maintain 39 parks in the Urban Growth Area slated for annexations. The annexation funds will be exhausted and these parks will close in 2012 unless annexation of these urban unincorporated areas occurs.
The Department of Executive Services found savings and efficiencies, and made cuts totaling $6.7 million in general government costs including elections, human resources, facilities management, the Office of Civil Rights, employee benefits and financial services. Six month lifeline funding is proposed to prevent closure of the 4th Avenue entrance to the Courthouse, and reductions in the use of lights, custodial services and heat and air conditioning in county facilities. Proposed dog and cat license fee increases will generate over $1 million in new revenue.
The Department of Development and Environmental Services will cut $688,000 due to reduced workload and test a four-day work week at its Black River facility to realize savings in building operations and maintenance and regional benefits of fewer employees commuting to work.
See Executive Budget Summary documents for full details.
Reserves extend lifeline to vital services
Examples of programs with six month lifeline funding that will see reductions or elimination if new revenues are not secured include:
- Northshore Public Health Clinic;
- White Center Family Planning Clinic;
- Winter homeless shelter program;
- Street bookings at the Maleng Regional Justice Center;
- Alternatives to secure detention programs;
- Child care health program;
- Domestic Violence Prevention;
- Mental Health Court;
- Drug Diversion Court;
- Disease control program for e-coli, West Nile Virus, rabies and other diseases transmitted by animals to humans;
- Immunizations;
- Tuberculosis control and prevention;
- Sexually transmitted diseases control and prevention;
- Pandemic flu control and prevention;
- Housing vouchers;
- Human Service contracts with community service providers;
- Substance abuse treatment programs;
- Recovery treatment;
- At-risk youth technology jobs training; and
- Sobering and detox contracts.
Employees are part of solution
Merit raises are eliminated for 2009 and cost of living raises are capped to three percent for all managers and non-union county employees for a $5.1 million savings. Executive Sims has been in discussions for several months with union representatives on options to achieve savings. The budget is balanced with another $8 million in cuts for represented employees.
Executive does more with less
The Executive proposed a 10.6 percent cut equaling $1.44 million in his office by eliminating four positions, reorganizing functions and moving out of leased space in Columbia Center to the county-owned Chinook Building. The reorganization will save $820,000 annually. The office move will save $3.88 million over five years, including a $400,000 yearly savings for the General Fund.
Earlier this year, the Executive froze non-urgent capital improvements for a savings of $7 millions over three years from postponed debt costs.
Working together
The Executive renewed his invitation to all separately elected leaders and stakeholders to join him and the Washington State Association of Counties to seek new revenue tools for all counties in the state.
"The stakes are too high for us not to have shared goals and a common purpose," Executive Sims said. "
"We as a community must remember that we are interconnected. We are all in this together. Together, we can do what conventional wisdom does not expect," Sims continued. "We can unite as one voice and permanently solve this structural problem. Together we achieve a brighter future."
Possible options to increase revenue tools for counties include flexibility in the use of existing funds such as the King County sales tax for mental illness and drug dependency so that it can be used to support Drug and Mental Health Court. Other examples are to allow the roads property levy to be used for local sheriff services and to give counties the authority to set and raise licensing fees and court filing fees that are currently set by the state.
Investments in infrastructure
To ensure long-term economic stability, and to protect personal health and our quality of life, the Executive Proposed Budget includes $1.2 billion in capital improvements. The projects will help safeguard water quality, improve transit and key transportation corridors and help build a better economy and quality of life for now and the future.
The $1.2 billion includes:
- $167 million to continue improvements in wastewater treatment system, including the construction of the Brightwater Treatment Plant;
- $75 million to continue the program to replace, improve and upgrade solid waste facilities;
- $53 million to protect groundwater and to invest in flood control projects to protect aerospace industry and retail and agricultural centers;
- $68 million to improve roadways, including moving forward on the Novelty Hill Road project;
- $43 million for capital improvements and property acquisitions to support our parks, recreation facilities and trail programs;
- $33 million invested in the new Ferry District; and
- biennial capital budget of $542 million for Metro Transit system for new buses and full funding of the expansions promised in Transit Now.