Call them the first budget-related cuts.
The weekly meetings between Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon and the leadership of the County Council have been canceled by the executive’s office.
Mark Funk, a spokesman for Reardon, said the weekly meetings between the executive and his department directors have also been canceled. Work is ramping up on the county’s 2005 budget, which is due to the council by the end of September.
The executive’s weekly meeting with the chairman and vice chairman of the County Council has long served as a heads-up on pressing issues between the two branches of county government.
But the cancellation of this month’s meetings follows weeks of turmoil between Reardon, a Democrat, and the Republican-controlled council. Reardon tendered the second veto of his administration in August, and the two sides have traded barbs in the weeks since.
Council Chairman John Koster said he would have liked to see the meetings rescheduled rather than canceled.
Reardon will unveil the 2005 county budget on Sept. 30, and council members have been pressing for details on next year’s spending plan. Reardon has said the county faces a potential $13 million budget deficit next year if it takes a business-as-usual approach, and has warned of employee layoffs.
“It would be nice if we were all engaged in this thing together, instead of the executive down there doing their thing and then just dumping the budget (on us) and saying, ‘Here it is,’ ” Koster said.
Reardon said the leadership meetings will resume once the budget is wrapped up.
“We’d like communication to improve all the way around,” Reardon said. “We’re happy to help them understand what we’re working on, if they’re interested in participating.”
Fox News studies ball-field issue: It looks like the Snohomish Little Leagues’ ball-field dilemma will get the “fair and balanced” treatment on an upcoming Fox News show.
A film crew for the national news program came out earlier this week to tape interviews with people who have been involved with the controversial ball fields, which were built without permits on farmland near Snohomish. The county has given Little League officials until May 31 to get permits for the ball fields or remove them.
The Fox News crew did an extended interview with County Councilman Jeff Sax, and also talked to Little League officials. The segment will take the angle of “environmentalists versus the great American pastime,” said Jennifer Holder, Sax’s legislative aide.
The segment is expected to air Sept. 10 or later.
Claim of the week: A Stanwood couple wants $200 from the county because a county maintenance crew cut down a 20-foot-long section of blackberry bushes the couple were using as a privacy screen on their property.
Next week: The council plans a hearing on selling surplus land near the Cathcart landfill to the Snohomish School District. The district wants to use part of the property for a new high school.
How you can get involved: The public hearing is at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday in the Jackson Hearing Room, sixth floor of the County Administration Building.
Reporter Brian Kelly covers county government for the Herald. He can be reached at 425-339-3422; kelly@heraldnet.com.
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