By Dave Somers
This week, I signed my first budget as Snohomish County executive. I feel that it’s important to reach out directly to taxpayers to explain not only our budget, but also why we made the choices we did and the long-term prognosis for our county. I believe that maximizing transparency is the best way to ensure we are representing the needs and aspirations of our community.
As most people know, county government is responsible for some of the most important and sensitive functions of our community, from public safety to transportation, from permitting to the collection and disposal of solid waste. There is no family in Snohomish County that is not touched by the work we do.
While some of our services are directed to parts of the county outside of cities — what we call “unincorporated Snohomish County” — we also have county-wide and regional responsibilities. We manage Paine Field airport, have an extensive parks and recreation system that includes the Evergreen State Fair, and ensure that county residents are prepared for a disaster through our Department of Emergency Management. Our Sheriff’s deputies patrol neighborhoods keeping our streets safe. We help veterans, the homeless and others who are vulnerable through our Department of Human Services. We ensure that our jail is equipped to house those who have been convicted or accused of a crime. We also are responsible for ensuring anyone who dies in the county under suspicious circumstances will have the medical examiner determine cause and manner of death.
In other words, Snohomish County provides many diverse and vital services for our community. As a scientist by training, I approach public service from a practical, information-based perspective; how can we fulfill our many responsibilities most effectively within the resources available to us.
County government presents daily governance challenges that demand creativity, fairness and collaboration across ideological and party lines. I truly believe rational people can come together and manage the business of government without drama or intrigue. Our responsibility is to solve problems and maintain the highest standards of professionalism.
The budget passed by the County Council and signed by me is not perfect, but it does fulfill our most important priorities and represents a constructive compromise between the legislative and executive branches of government.
As it has been for decades, public safety is the county’s top priority for budget expenditures. Law and justice agencies, including the prosecutor, clerk, sheriff’s office, courts, county jail, and public defense, account for 76 percent of our total county general fund budget (approximately $181 million out of a total general fund budget of $238 million). This is where we spend the vast majority of our discretionary resources.
The rest of the county government: human services, the auditor’s office, parks and recreation, the assessor’s office, planning and development, the treasurer’s office, Paine Field airport, public works, finance, administration, Information technology, and human resources are responsible for the remaining 24 percent of the budget ($57 million).
The challenge we have in our county, similar to most counties across the state, is that our expenses rise faster than our available resources. To support the exact same programs in 2017 that we did in 2016, it would cost Snohomish County $6 million more than we have available. In other words, in order to remain fiscally solvent, we had to find 3 percent savings across the departments that are funded by the county’s general fund budget.
With 76 percent of our resources consumed by public safety agencies, it stands to reason that the majority of the savings had to be found within those departments. Some county departments identified explicit cuts to programs to meet their budget targets for 2017. Others made commitments to find their savings during the course of the year without identifying specific cuts. Those departments have assured me and the council that they will meet their budget targets by the end of 2017, and we will closely monitor their progress throughout the year to make certain we stay on track.
The cuts we must make for 2017 and beyond are significant and require continued leadership from my fellow elected officials. There are no easy decisions since they involve making choices between programs that provide important services to our community, but they are necessary decisions that must be made to protect our fiscal health.
I signed the 2017 budget knowing that there is much more work to be done to address the long-term sustainability of the county’s finances. Achieving fiscal health will be a multi-year process that requires the full participation, collaboration, and support of all county elected officials. Together, we were able to prioritize an important county reform program to improve customer service and efficiency, modestly support senior centers across the county and start to improve the budget reserves we will need when the economy again weakens.
My commitment for the coming year is to continue the prioritization of public safety, fiscal sustainability and reform of county government. Snohomish County is an exceptional place to live, work and play precisely because we value transparency, accountability and results. I look forward to working with my fellow elected officials, county residents and county employees over the next twelve months as we make improvements, both large and small, to benefit our Snohomish County.
Dave Somers began his first term as Snohomish County executive in January. He previously served 14 years on the Snohomish County Council.
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