The Metropolitan King County Council gave its unanimous approval during a Nov. 23 meeting in Seattle to next year’s $5 billion King County Budget, closing a $56 million budget gap that emerged during 2009.
The savings were found through a variety of means, but mainly through reductions in hours and a hiring freeze. A total of 311 Full-time Equivalent Employee positions (FTEs) were eliminated. The County Council sought to preserve nearly all current funding for public safety and criminal justice and avert threatened cuts to Metro bus service.
“What the council has agreed to, is to fulfill the basic services of the county while they reprioritized funding,” said King County spokesperson Al Sanders.
No net tax increases were proposed.
In a positive development for Issaquah and Sammamish, the council also rejected a money-saving proposal by Interim King County Executive Kurt Triplett to close down county management of 39 parks within the Urban Growth Boundary, affecting Klahanie Park. Funding has yet to be determined but is authorized under the current budget.
Continuing to offer these services meant ending others. Of all human services and health programs, only domestic violence and sexual assault services were preserved. Councilmembers also cut funding for 4-H, Master Gardners, and county animal shelters.
Most of the cuts came from the county’s discretionary General Fund, which is budgeted for $629 million in spending. Compared to fiscal year 2009, the council budgeted for $4.9 billion in spending with a general fund of $627.8.
Adjusting for inflation, the County’s General Fund is essentially stuck at 2006 levels when the General Fund was at $580 million.
Councilmember Kathy Lambert, representing Issaquah, the Sammamish Plateau and Northeast King County, played a key role in shaping the budget as a member of the Budget Leadership Team.
“Our top priority continues to be preserving core services to protect public safety,” she said. “We continue our commitment to offer alternatives to incarceration, such as our nationally recognized drug court as well as the mental health court, which will be expanded countywide.”
Councilmember Reagan Dunn, who represents several South Issaquah neighborhoods, also touted the one-percent cut to public safety as an achievement in the tough economic environment.
“I am very pleased with the priorities set by this budget,” he said “Public safety must be our top concern and this budget makes that the number one priority. However, we face an even tougher challenge in maintaining basic services next year. If the county cannot get a handle on the cost drivers of the general fund then we will be back here year after year.”
While both the Sheriff’s Office and County Prosecutor’s Office were spared major cuts, both agencies have already made significant changes to the way they operate. Last year, only three noncommissioned Sheriff’s Office staff members were laid-off, but 65 unfilled positions were eliminated. Some 47 deputies, who had been policing unincorporated King County, were contracted out to serve in cities or in other agencies such as Sound Transit or Metro.
Over 800 people attended five public hearings this fall led by the Budget and Fiscal Management Committee.
