2010 King County Budget
I recently sent out a newsletter (pdf, 160 KB) that included information on the 2010 King County budget. The information below will provide you with additional details on the budget. As always, please feel free to contact me if you have additional questions.
Budget Outlook
The Council unanimously adopted the budget on November 23, 2009. The Council's approved 2010 budget is $5.001 billion, which is $12 million lower than the $5.013 billion proposed by the County Executive. The budget makes targeted cuts and prioritizes preserving basic services for County residents. You can read the entire adopted 2010 budget here.
King County's $5 billion budget is comprised of two separate types of funds - "dedicated funds" and the "general fund." More than 80% of the total budget consists of dedicated funds, in which the revenues have been collected for a specific purpose and can only be spent on that purpose. For example, bus fares can only be spent for transit purposes and sewer fees can only be used to pay for wastewater treatment. The County general fund pays for the day-to-day operations of county government and critical services, such as public safety, which are not supported by any other revenues. More information about the differences between these funds is available here.
In light of current economic conditions and an ongoing structural gap between revenue and expenditure growth, the County faced a difficult budget session. To balance the 2010 budget, the Council had to 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 particularly challenging.
Looking forward, the County's budget challenges are expected to continue. Current budget projections estimate general fund shortfalls of $54 million for 2011 and $88 million for 2012.
Balanced Budget
Despite the budget challenges, the Council adopted a balanced budget without raising taxes or draining reserves. In light of projected deficits in 2011 and 2012, it is critical to maintain our emergency reserves. These reserves help the County maintain its history of strong bond ratings. Standard & Poor’s, a credit rating agency, recently 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's strong bond rating saves significant taxpayer dollars by lowering borrowing costs when the County sells bonds to fund capital projects.
To balance the budget, the Council required departments to streamline their costs and achieve efficiencies. For example, the adopted budget reduces the County Council’s budget by 13% and cuts seven positions. The budget for the Executive’s office was reduced by 10%. In addition, the Council identified more than $1.4 million in savings by eliminating non-essential computer equipment purchases and delaying the replacement of desktop computers. The budget also requires:
- The Transportation Department to provide a report to the Council on the consolidation of services in various divisions;
- Facilities management to evaluate whether staffing levels are appropriate;
- Solid Waste to report on its use of overtime, and;
- Wastewater treatment to develop shift changes to more productively use employees.
Metro Transit
As a regular commuter on the #41 from Northgate, I understand the importance of bus service. I disagreed with the Executive’s proposal to cut 9% of Metro bus service - 310,000 service hours - throughout the County to address the $213 million shortfall that Metro faced for the 2010-2011 biennium. A sharp recessionary drop in the sales tax revenue, which is Metro's primary source of funding, led to Metro's large revenue shortfall projected for the next two years.
I worked with my colleagues to adopt a balanced Metro budget that preserves existing service. The Council avoided drastic service cuts by reprioritizing funds and implementing efficiencies. More detailed information is available here, but highlights include:
- Reducing the frequency of park and ride maintenance, the quantity of printed materials and schedules, and making other non-service related cuts;
- Reprioritizing 6.5 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation of existing property tax levies dedicated to ferry service and the County’s Automated Fingerprint Identification System, and using the revenue to preserve 110,000 hours of bus service annually in a way that is tax neutral to King County residents, and;
- Using $40 million over the next two years from Metro’s Fleet Replacement Fund, which holds excess reserves of $105 million, as recommended earlier this year by an audit commissioned by the Council.
Related articles:
Law, Safety & Justice
The adopted budget prioritizes public safety, sparing significant budget reductions to our criminal justice system, including the Sheriff, the court system, the Prosecuting Attorney's office, public defense, and the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention. As a result, the Council was able to fund:
- Sheriff's deputy patrols and law enforcement activities necessary to maintain public safety in the unincorporated areas and the region as a whole;
- Mental Health Court and the Relicensing Program, which are administered by District Court and achieve cost savings for the County;
- Probation services that protect the public while reducing the costs of incarceration;
- Targeted enforcement programs by the Prosecuting Attorney that have led to significant reductions in auto theft, burglary, and gun violence;
- Adult and Juvenile Drug Courts, and the Unified Family Court, which promote effective judicial management of cases for more positive results, and;
- Funding for the King County Law Library within the Maleng Regional Justice Center, a vital service for individuals that are representing themselves in the legal system.
You can read the reaction to the budget by the Sheriff, Prosecutor, and the Presiding Judge of Superior Court here.
Public Health
The budget decreases general fund support for Public Health by $4.5 million to $26.5 million. In order to alleviate reductions in service delivery, the County is entering into innovative partnerships with community providers at the Northshore and Kent Public Health Centers.
At the Northshore Public Health Center in Bothell, Public Health has entered into a partnership agreement with HealthPoint that prevents the health center’s closure and ensures continued access to health services for North King County residents in need. The agreement blends the services offered by HealthPoint and Public Health. HealthPoint will provide primary care services, which are not presently offered at the site. The family planning and immunization services provided by Public Health will be integrated into HealthPoint’s primary care delivery. Public Health will continue to provide maternity support and Women, Infant and Children services. Public Health will also offer communicable disease expertise, other emergency response resources, and assistance for those eligible for Medicaid or Basic Health Plan insurance.
The integration of services and shared clinical space will lower Public Health’s current operating costs at the Northshore facility, saving the County $623,000 annually.
Human Services
To preserve core public safety and mandatory government functions, painful cuts were made throughout the budget, particularly to many human service programs. However, by achieving savings elsewhere in the budget, the Council was able to restore nearly $1.4 million for programs for the prevention of domestic violence and sexual assault, and for legal aid programs that help survivors obtain restraining orders and navigate the judicial system. Read More...
As a former director of an emergency services organization, I understand the importance of human services. That is why I have worked to create dedicated funding sources for human service programs over the last several years, which generate over $60 million a year. These include the Veterans and Human Services Levy and a one-tenth of one percent sales tax for Mental Illness and Drug Dependency programs. Without these revenues, the hit to the region's human services safety net would have been even more devastating this year.
As the County's budget challenges continue, I remain committed to finding additional long-term funding solutions for these critical services.
Parks
The Executive's proposed 2010 budget included the closure of 39 parks in urban unincorporated King County. Recognizing that parks are important for our quality of life, the Council collaborated with local organizations and governments to reduce costs and establish partnership to keep the parks open.
Animal Care and Control
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 the Seattle Humane Society to provide animal sheltering services for King County residents. Read More...
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