By Bob Drewel
It’s that time of year again. There’s a nip of fall in the air and the crunching of numbers in Snohomish County government. Every fall I submit executive recommendations regarding the Snohomish County budget for public discussion and county council review, modification and approval. It is a culmination of a months-long effort by our budget staff to predict economic trends, assess revenue sources, evaluate what we’ve done in the preceding year, listen to the wide range of needs expressed by our citizens and put all of it together in a balanced budget.
This is a process where needs are substantial and the resources almost always too small. But Snohomish County is blessed with smart and hardworking employees throughout the corporation who continually find ways to do more with less.
Recently there has been considerable news coverage of the county budget, not all of it accurate. The Sept. 29 Herald article gave several readers the impression that Snohomish County would be raising taxes 12.7 percent. This is not correct. The budget proposes a general use property tax increase of 1.89 percent. This increase is less than the cost of inflation as measured by the consumer price index. This would cost a taxpayer with a house assessed at $150,000 about an additional $3.41 in 2002. A proposed roads property tax increase of 6 percent, driven by the urgent need to improve our roads, would cost a taxpayer in unincorporated Snohomish County with a house assessed at $150,000 about an additional $14.46 in 2002. Together, these total $17.87 for the entire year.
We get no joy from raising taxes. But I strongly believe that we have a responsibility to our community to make sure that we have local government that functions well and meets the basic needs of our citizens.
Earlier this week, we participated in a constructive public discussion of the 2002 budget, sponsored by the League of Women Voters and attended by more than 100 Snohomish County citizens. We used technology to make the meeting more inclusive and allow everyone to voice their opinion and see what everyone else thought.
Among the many issues raised and opinions expressed, three powerful themes stuck in my mind. People are concerned about public safety, they are feeling the pinch of rising taxes, and they are worried about the future — themes that sometimes conflict. Since June, these concerns have been the most significant themes of the 2002 budget, and they were greatly amplified by the horrific events of Sept. 11.
A little more than a week ago, this newspaper published an Opinion piece from Sheriff Rick Bart. Sheriff Bart generally made the point that our public safety system is understaffed, and that his office needed additional deputies. At the same time, he also acknowledged that adding deputies to the system would lead to additional arrests and with that the need for more prosecutors, courts, jail beds and staff to support the larger system.
What Sheriff Bart did not do is explain where all the money would come from.
Does the sheriff’s office need more deputies? Absolutely. But that’s a problem we have been working on for over a decade. Since 1992 I have added 75 positions in the sheriff’s department: 66 deputies, and nine support staff. That works out to about a 30 percent increase in staffing during a time where the population in unincorporated Snohomish County rose only 10 percent. In addition, we are in the process of constructing a $30 million countywide emergency radio system to better protect our public and emergency responders.
The 2002 budget proposes adding another five deputies, something we will be able to achieve only through staffing reductions and cuts in other departments. And we will be recommending this staffing increase at a time of declining revenues and concern over our future revenue base. Here’s a quick rundown of some of our challenges: state cuts in funding for law enforcement, precipitated largely by reductions that were a consequence of Initiative 695 — even while it passed along millions of dollars of unfunded mandates; the planned Boeing layoffs and the general economic downturn; and our costs rising faster than inflation — healthcare costs alone have skyrocketed 22 percent this past year.
At the heart of our work on the budget we are working to balance many things: demands for more deputy sheriffs; needed assistance for those who are losing jobs; fears about our economy; human services for people and families in need; tax burdens on people with fixed incomes; emergency preparedness; transportation solutions; quality of life and much more.
I invite you to learn the facts about the county budget and my recommendation for spending priorities. I urge you to express your comments as the county council considers the year 2002 budget. Call 425-388-3494 to get information on council hearings and opportunities for public input. These challenges belong to all of us.
Bob Drewel is the Snohomish County Executive.
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