Snohomish County Executive Bob Drewel refused Tuesday to sign the 2004 budget approved by the County Council last month.
Drewel said county government needs to make hard financial choices now and not push them off for later. It was the first budget Drewel had not signed during his 12 years as executive.
He sent a four-page letter to the council late Tuesday that outlined his objections to the council’s changes to his proposed budget.
Drewel also declined to sign two other ordinances that put the 2004 spending plan in place: an ordinance that raises Superior Court arbitration fees from $150 to $220, and a general property tax levy increase.
Although Drewel stopped short of vetoing the 2004 budget, his refusal to sign three of nine budget ordinances was a barb aimed at County Council members.
A veto of the budget would have led to a shutdown of most of county government for a week or more. Now, the budget will take effect on Jan. 1 without Drewel’s blessing.
Drewel’s letter to the council was harsh. He said the council lacked the "political courage" to pass the 1 percent property tax increase he had proposed.
But council chairman Gary Nelson defended the council’s budget changes.
"They’re a bit upset over the fact that we just don’t take their budget, make some minor modifications and go home," Nelson said.
"We’re not about to do that," he said. "We have a longer-term picture of what we want to see happen in this county."
Drewel said the rejection of the property tax increase would mean a loss of $3.15 million in general fund revenues over the next five years. Those revenues are used to pay for law and justice programs, parks and human services. The rejection of the tax increase means the owner of a $200,000 home will get a tax break of $2.62 next year, less than the cost of a single video rental, Drewel said.
Nelson said the council would not rubber stamp the executive’s budget or his general property tax levy.
"He wants a bunch of wimps. He thought we were just going to roll over and pass the property tax. I don’t think so," Nelson said.
"This council does not suffer from wimp-lash," he added.
The economy isn’t strong enough to raise taxes, Nelson said.
"We don’t want to punish families who in some cases have lost one or more of the family incomes that they once enjoyed," Nelson said.
The budget did include several tax and fee increases.
Drewel signed an ordinance covering the council-approved property tax increase for roads, as well as the conservation futures property tax and surface water management fee increases that got a nod from the council.
Drewel said Nelson’s "wimp-lash" comment is an example of the council’s twisting of words.
The council approved a budget more than $800,000 larger than the one he proposed, "and then claim that they’re addressing fiscal conservatism," Drewel said.
Drewel’s letter to the council listed his other concerns with the modified budget.
Changes to the general fund budget — the pot of money that pays for police and other basic government services — that were made by the council accounted for $483,000 in mathematical errors in the budget, he said.
And the council’s adoption of budget notes that added further strings on how the county spends money in 2004 included some that stretched beyond the council’s legislative authority. Some appeared to cross the line into the executive’s turf, which is spelled out in the county charter.
Overall, the council approved a budget that was $858,000 larger than the $664 million budget proposed by Drewel in September. The council’s budget also included 12 employees who had not been requested by Drewel.
Nelson said the council-approved budget was bigger largely because of three grants that came in too late to be included in the executive’s version. And half of the additional employees in the council’s budget are only funded for six months.
Nelson said the charges of errors in the council-approved budget "melted away" after discussions with the executive’s office.
Still, he said the council will work to resolve any budget problems with incoming executive Aaron Reardon, the Everett state senator elected as executive in November. The council is ready to pass ordinances or motions to fix the budget, Nelson said.
Reporter Brian Kelly: 425-339-3422 or kelly@heraldnet.com.
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