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Council Adopts Balanced 2010 King County Budget

Bob listening to budget testimony.

Today, despite significant budget challenges, the Council adopted a fiscally sound, balanced budget for 2010. The budget maintains the County's history of strong bond ratings. Standard & Poor’s, a credit rating agency, praised the County for its “realistic revenue projections, a willingness to make politically difficult service reductions and creative efforts to realign programmatic responsibilities with funding sources.” A recent Seattle Times article, available here, has additional details.

The County faced a difficult budget session and made numerous tough decisions. To balance the 2010 budget, we cut $56 million from the County’s $629 million general fund, which pays for services such as elections, criminal justice, public health, and human services. Having previously cut $93 million from the general fund last year, this year’s cuts were even more challenging.

Some important aspects of the budget include:     

Balanced budget without raising taxes or draining reserves. In light of projected deficits in 2011 and 2012, making tough choices today and not drawing down our reserves is critical. In addition, these actions maintain King County’s high bond rating, which saves taxpayer dollars by lowering borrowing costs.

Law, safety, and justice programs remain intact. The budgets for our courts, Prosecutor, Sheriff, public defense, and jail avoided significant cuts. These agencies will continue providing essential services. You can read comments by our Sheriff, Prosecutor and the Presiding Judge of Superior Court here.

Transit service restored. As a commuter on the #41 from Northgate, I disagreed with the Executive’s proposal to cut 9% of Metro bus service throughout the County. Metro faced a $213 million shortfall for the biennium due to the sharp drop in sales tax revenues – Metro’s primary funding source.

The Council balanced Metro’s budget and avoided drastic service cuts by reprioritizing funds and implementing efficiencies, including:

• Making non-service related cuts, such as reducing the frequency of park and ride maintenance and the quantity of printed materials and schedules.

• Reprioritizing existing revenues dedicated to ferry service to support bus service.

• Using a portion of Metro’s fleet replacement reserve fund as recommended earlier this year by an audit commissioned by the Council.

• Suspending a minimal amount of bus service on our least productive routes, also recommended by the audit, which will help Metro implement more efficient service.

Domestic violence and sexual assault programs saved. The Council restored nearly $1.4 million for these programs after the Executive proposed eliminating them. For many other human service programs, painful cuts were made. I remain committed to working on a long-term funding solution for human services in King County.

Northshore Public Health Center will remain open. The center, located in Bothell, will remain open to serve the uninsured and underinsured residents of North King County. An innovative partnership between King County Public Health and HealthPoint will save the County $623,000 annually.

King County will transition to a new model for animal care and control services. The County will save approximately $2 million annually by working with community partners to get out of the animal shelter business and achieve full cost recovery with cities for animal control and licensing services. The County is negotiating with Seattle Humane Society to provide animal sheltering services for King County residents.

Parks kept open. The Executive’s proposal included mothballing 39 local parks in urban unincorporated King County. Recognizing that parks are important for our quality of life, we were able to develop a plan to keep the parks open for all residents.

During the budget process, the Council heard from thousands of concerned residents whose input helped to shape this budget. I want to thank everyone for taking the time to comment on the proposed budget.

You can check out the entire 2010 King County budget here.

Update on Potential Flooding in the Green River Valley

In my September newsletter, I discussed the potential flooding threat in South King County due to problems with the federally owned Howard Hanson Dam. I am pleased to report that U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials recently announced that short-term repairs have reduced the threat of a major flood event in the Green River Valley to a 1-in-25 chance. Previously, the Army Corps estimated the chance of widespread flooding at 1-in-4. Although the risk is reduced, the consequences of a flood would still be disastrous.

King County and other local jurisdictions continue to make progress in flood preparation efforts:

• 40 miles of levees have been raised with sandbags;

• Evacuation route signs are being installed; and

• Emergency warning systems are in place.

Local residents are still urged to buy flood insurance and assemble "go kits" -- documents, medicine, and other valuables they will need if evacuation should be necessary.
 
Read more:
Green River Valley: Anxiety ebbs over flooding potential – Seattle Times
Work has cut threat of floods in Green River Valley – Seattle PI
Green River flood risk lessened, but not over – King 5

Bench-Bar Conference

Having practiced law prior to being elected to the King County Council, I was pleased to speak at the King County Bar Association’s (KCBA) 2009 Bench-Bar Conference conducted at the UW School of Law. Over 160 attorneys and judges came together to discuss topics focused on the King County legal system. I spoke about the importance of funding for our judicial system.

You can visit the KCBA website to learn more about the conference.

In the District

• I recently attended a meeting of the Rotary Club of Northeast Seattle. We discussed a number of issues, including the County budget, Metro Transit, and the risk of flooding in the Green River Valley. I always enjoy meeting directly with community members and learning about the issues that matter to them.

• I was honored to attend an event celebrating the inaugural “Jack Crawford ‘Courtesy is Contagious in Kenmore’ Day.” Kenmore issued the proclamation to honor Jack Crawford’s spirit and service to the community. Jack was Kenmore’s first mayor and proposed the city’s motto, “Courtesy is Contagious in Kenmore.” A tree, a Japanese Stewartia, was planted in Log Boom Park to commemorate the occasion. You can read the proclamation here, and more about the event here.

About my E-Newsletter

Councilmember Bob Ferguson on the Web: www.kingcounty.gov/ferguson

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