Drewel may cut county jobs
Published 9:00 pm Thursday, March 14, 2002
By Warren Cornwall
Herald Writer
Tough financial times could force Snohomish County to cut roughly 30 jobs in the coming two years and drain part of the county’s savings, county executive Bob Drewel warned Thursday.
Drewel delivered the news to department directors Thursday in a letter that serves as a prelude to preparations for the 2003 budget.
The executive predicted citizens would feel the cuts.
"We recognize that many of your reduction packages will impact services to the community," he wrote to departments. "You will need to identify those services and levels of service within our business areas that are not mandatory."
The remarks come as the region’s economy cools from the hot pace of the late 1990s, and as a series of state tax-cutting initiatives take effect.
Those developments, coupled with population growth and federal and state mandates, are squeezing the county between a demand for services and a tightening of revenues, Drewel said.
To meet budget demands, the county already has begun tapping the $29 million general fund reserve built up in 1999. The general fund is the portion of the county budget fed largely by tax collections, and includes services such as law enforcement, the treasurer, auditor and assessor’s offices, and the jail.
That reserve was at more than double the county’s target level of 11 percent of the general fund. Now it has shrunk to 11 percent, and is expected to fall to 8 percent, or $13.3 million, by the end of 2003, said executive budget analyst Roger Neumaier.
County council member Jeff Sax welcomed Drewel’s call for the county to set priorities. But he said he hoped the Democratic executive would look to the council for input on how tighter funds should be spent.
"I hope he includes us in the priorities he’s going to establish, because I know the council has some definite ideas about what we consider priorities," said Sax, a Republican on the Republican-controlled council.
Snohomish County isn’t the only county facing budget problems. King County is wrestling with an expected $50 million budget shortfall for 2003.
Snohomish County’s fiscal position appears to be less dire. The cuts in general fund staff amount to 1 percent per year for two years for a workforce of 1,482.
But Drewel cautioned the situation could grow worse. He is preparing to ask the council to put a one-tenth of a penny sales tax increase before voters in September to pay for operations at the new jail soon to be under construction.
If that ballot measure isn’t approved, the county could have to find $8 million a year from other sources to run the jail, county officials have said. Drewel also warned that the county could be vulnerable to cuts in state funding, increases in pension rates, or a further decline in the economy.
You can call Herald Writer Warren Cornwall at 425-339-3463 or send e-mail to cornwall@heraldnet.com.
