By Warren Cornwall
Herald Writer
Faced with voter-imposed belt tightening, the Snohomish County Council on Tuesday cut $61 million worth of planned transportation projects.
The decision set the stage for a re-examination of how the county pays for road projects and regulates development.
In the council’s approval of a 2002 budget, it was the biggest sign of policy shifts wrought by Initiative 747, the property-tax limiting measure recently approved by voters.
Several council members predicted the county will wrestle with the fiscal constraints for years to come.
"There are going to be some tough times ahead," council member Gary Nelson said.
The new tax limits and the slowing economy led the council to cut $1.2 million from County Executive Bob Drewel’s 2002 general fund spending plan and put another $775,000 of spending on hold. There was no mention of the major boost in sheriff’s staffing sought recently by a citizens group.
The cuts in transportation spending won’t be felt in 2002 because the shelved projects weren’t scheduled to begin until later, said Peter Hahn, director of the county’s Public Works Department.
But the cuts may put the county on a collision course with state law.
The county must show it can find money to pay for enough road projects to prevent traffic gridlock caused by population growth. The county had planned a 6 percent annual increase in the portion of property tax that goes to roads. The plan was cut short by I-747, which limits annual property tax increases to 1 percent unless voters approve a bigger increase.
As a result, county taxpayers will save $44 million between 2002 and 2007. But, combined with losses of federal and state funds tied to local money, it leaves the county an estimated $61 million short of its $309 million spending goal, according to county estimates.
Drewel said transportation will be a top point of discussion between the council and his departments.
"I think the number one issue we are going to have to work very closely together on is transportation," he said.
As part of the budget vote, the council directed the executive to figure out how to deal with the transportation crunch. Options include raising taxes or fees, allowing more congestion, restricting growth or doing the work more cheaply.
Nelson cast the sole vote against the cuts. He said those cuts might not be the right ones, and shelving them could make it harder to lobby the state for money.
"Without a doubt, some projects are going to have to go. The questions are, which ones?" he said after the meeting.
But outgoing council chairman Dave Somers said it was an important attempt to acknowledge the county’s bind.
"We’ve got to get real with our numbers and our projects," he said.
Hahn said the list of cuts could be revised in the future.
Nelson, the council’s only Republican, also cast the only vote against the county’s general fund budget.
The new budget increases general fund spending by 3.8 percent compared with 2001, to $161 million. The general fund pays chiefly for law enforcement, land-use planning and departments such as the auditor and assessor.
Overall county spending will rise by 12.8 percent to $657 million. The increase comes largely from upfront costs of major construction projects, including more than doubling the size of the jail.
Nelson said he voted against the budget partly because the council rejected several requirements for detailed studies of staffing and spending.
Council member Barbara Cothern, however, questioned why the council needed to impose those requirements in the budget, rather than simply asking departments for the information.
The budget added five more sheriff’s deputies — far less than the 47 sought by Sheriff Rick Bart and a group calling itself Citizens for a Safe Snohomish County. Four of the new positions won’t be filled until at least April, when the county is certain it has the money.
Only three citizens spoke at several budget hearings held by the council.
You can call Herald Writer Warren Cornwall at 425-339-3463 or send e-mail to cornwall@heraldnet.com.
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