Published: Thursday, October 8, 2009
Executive, council in spat over county jobs
Reardon budget assumes furloughs or layoffs; councilmen object to tactic
EVERETT — Next year’s Snohomish County budget is at least $12 million short.
That number is something that the County Council and county executive mostly agree on.
The task ahead is clear: Costs must be cut to meet expected revenue.
That means somebody will have to make unpopular choices to balance the budget. Will salaries be cut for all 2,700 county employees? Will entire programs be eliminated? Will up to 100 people be laid off?
County Executive Aaron Reardon says it’s a simple choice between layoffs and an across-the-board pay cut, in the form of furloughs. The County Council says the options are not so simple — parks could be closed, programs could be cut and county departments could be merged.
And furloughs haven’t even been agreed to by the county’s unions, so that money can’t be relied on, County Council Chairman Mike Cooper said.
“I’m concerned about this approach that assumes $7 million in labor agreements that aren’t in place,” he said.
Reardon’s proposed 2010 budget includes about $201 million for the general fund, the part of the budget that pays most employee salaries and essential services required by law, including much of the criminal justice system. Carrying those services into next year, without any pay cuts, layoffs or other savings, would cost at least $213 million.
A big way Reardon hopes to shrink the budget by $7 million is through a 15-day furlough for most employees. Sheriff’s deputies and other emergency employees can’t take furloughs without compromising public safety, so they would simply take an equivalent 5.7 percent pay cut.
Another $5 million or more in savings would be up to department heads.
Reardon said he gave the council a clear choice: slice 5.7 percent from all employee salaries or lay off about 100 people.
“The budget is balanced. Facts are not up for debate,” Reardon said. “There’s no way one can reasonably presume it’s not balanced.”
Councilman Brian Sullivan, called the executive’s budget “a punt” that leaves most of the hard decisions to the council.
“I’ve never quite seen a budget punted like this before,” Sullivan said. “It’s very unfortunate because the executive has all year to work on the budget and we have two months. We’re going to have to pull together department heads and executive staff and other electeds to get to where we have to go.”
Cooper said Reardon’s plan relies too much on union negotiations that haven’t been worked out. “I call that out of balance,” Cooper said.
Unions would have to agree to any pay cuts. The union that represents about two-thirds of the county’s 2,700 employees, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, doesn’t begin negotiations until December — after the County Council’s Dec. 1 deadline for submitting its budget draft.
After receiving the council’s version, the executive has 10 days to sign or veto it.
The council has scheduled three evening meetings next week to discuss the budget with the public. The overall 2010 proposed budget, which includes the airport, large construction projects and other programs, is about $608 million.
Cooper plans to submit his version to the rest of the council in November. He said all options would be on the table, including cutting popular programs, such as the master gardeners, or by closing parks, an option neighboring King County is considering.
Reardon said Snohomish County is in better shape than other local governments and doesn’t need to take such drastic actions. His staff looked at possibilities, such as the ones Cooper has suggested, and decided furloughs and pay cuts were a better route.
“Right now, they’re throwing out dozens of ideas that have yet to be vetted,” he said. “The citizens have yet to respond.”
He added: “Closing down parks is not an option. Taxpayers want amenities.”
The county also faced tough budget decisions last fall and wound up eliminating 160 jobs. That wasn’t enough, though.
During the first half of 2009, falling revenues forced a combined 64 layoffs in the planning and public works departments.
The council and the executive also had to work out a furlough deal in March with most county employees, except those in public safety, to help slim the budget by another $6 million.
The deal for 11 unpaid days off has meant that many customer service desks now operate on shortened schedules. Under Reardon’s plan for 15 furlough days next year, current schedules would remain in place.
One thing the executive and the council generally agree on this year is how much revenue the county is collecting through taxes, fees and other income sources.
“It’s somewhat comforting when we come up with the same number,” said John Amos, a county council analyst, during a Wednesday afternoon presentation.
The county’s take in sales tax is expected to dip about $2 million from the 2009 adopted budget, while property taxes would show a slight increase. A tenth of 1 percent sales tax that went into effect in April should provide the county with an extra $3.8 million to replace money cut from existing mental health programs.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com.
Have your say
The public has three chances to discuss Snohomish County’s 2010 budget with the County Council at evening meetings next week. The meetings start at 6:30 p.m. on:
Monday at the Edmonds City Council Chambers, 250 Fifth Ave. N., Edmonds.
Tuesday in the Gary Weikel room at Willis Tucker Park, 6705 Puget Park Drive, Snohomish.
Thursday at the Stillaguamish Senior Center, 18308 Smokey Point Blvd., Arlington.
For more information, go to www.snoco.org and search for “2010 budget.”
That number is something that the County Council and county executive mostly agree on.
The task ahead is clear: Costs must be cut to meet expected revenue.
That means somebody will have to make unpopular choices to balance the budget. Will salaries be cut for all 2,700 county employees? Will entire programs be eliminated? Will up to 100 people be laid off?
County Executive Aaron Reardon says it’s a simple choice between layoffs and an across-the-board pay cut, in the form of furloughs. The County Council says the options are not so simple — parks could be closed, programs could be cut and county departments could be merged.
And furloughs haven’t even been agreed to by the county’s unions, so that money can’t be relied on, County Council Chairman Mike Cooper said.
“I’m concerned about this approach that assumes $7 million in labor agreements that aren’t in place,” he said.
Reardon’s proposed 2010 budget includes about $201 million for the general fund, the part of the budget that pays most employee salaries and essential services required by law, including much of the criminal justice system. Carrying those services into next year, without any pay cuts, layoffs or other savings, would cost at least $213 million.
A big way Reardon hopes to shrink the budget by $7 million is through a 15-day furlough for most employees. Sheriff’s deputies and other emergency employees can’t take furloughs without compromising public safety, so they would simply take an equivalent 5.7 percent pay cut.
Another $5 million or more in savings would be up to department heads.
Reardon said he gave the council a clear choice: slice 5.7 percent from all employee salaries or lay off about 100 people.
“The budget is balanced. Facts are not up for debate,” Reardon said. “There’s no way one can reasonably presume it’s not balanced.”
Councilman Brian Sullivan, called the executive’s budget “a punt” that leaves most of the hard decisions to the council.
“I’ve never quite seen a budget punted like this before,” Sullivan said. “It’s very unfortunate because the executive has all year to work on the budget and we have two months. We’re going to have to pull together department heads and executive staff and other electeds to get to where we have to go.”
Cooper said Reardon’s plan relies too much on union negotiations that haven’t been worked out. “I call that out of balance,” Cooper said.
Unions would have to agree to any pay cuts. The union that represents about two-thirds of the county’s 2,700 employees, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, doesn’t begin negotiations until December — after the County Council’s Dec. 1 deadline for submitting its budget draft.
After receiving the council’s version, the executive has 10 days to sign or veto it.
The council has scheduled three evening meetings next week to discuss the budget with the public. The overall 2010 proposed budget, which includes the airport, large construction projects and other programs, is about $608 million.
Cooper plans to submit his version to the rest of the council in November. He said all options would be on the table, including cutting popular programs, such as the master gardeners, or by closing parks, an option neighboring King County is considering.
Reardon said Snohomish County is in better shape than other local governments and doesn’t need to take such drastic actions. His staff looked at possibilities, such as the ones Cooper has suggested, and decided furloughs and pay cuts were a better route.
“Right now, they’re throwing out dozens of ideas that have yet to be vetted,” he said. “The citizens have yet to respond.”
He added: “Closing down parks is not an option. Taxpayers want amenities.”
The county also faced tough budget decisions last fall and wound up eliminating 160 jobs. That wasn’t enough, though.
During the first half of 2009, falling revenues forced a combined 64 layoffs in the planning and public works departments.
The council and the executive also had to work out a furlough deal in March with most county employees, except those in public safety, to help slim the budget by another $6 million.
The deal for 11 unpaid days off has meant that many customer service desks now operate on shortened schedules. Under Reardon’s plan for 15 furlough days next year, current schedules would remain in place.
One thing the executive and the council generally agree on this year is how much revenue the county is collecting through taxes, fees and other income sources.
“It’s somewhat comforting when we come up with the same number,” said John Amos, a county council analyst, during a Wednesday afternoon presentation.
The county’s take in sales tax is expected to dip about $2 million from the 2009 adopted budget, while property taxes would show a slight increase. A tenth of 1 percent sales tax that went into effect in April should provide the county with an extra $3.8 million to replace money cut from existing mental health programs.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com.
Have your say
The public has three chances to discuss Snohomish County’s 2010 budget with the County Council at evening meetings next week. The meetings start at 6:30 p.m. on:
Monday at the Edmonds City Council Chambers, 250 Fifth Ave. N., Edmonds.
Tuesday in the Gary Weikel room at Willis Tucker Park, 6705 Puget Park Drive, Snohomish.
Thursday at the Stillaguamish Senior Center, 18308 Smokey Point Blvd., Arlington.
For more information, go to www.snoco.org and search for “2010 budget.”
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