COUPEVILLE — The Island County budget director calls the whole thing “challenging.”
In order to balance Island County’s proposed $67.4 million budget, county officials are prepared to lay off more employees, slash some programs by half, dip further into savings, raise property taxes, cut hours of operation and reduce nonunion employee medical coverage.
With sales tax revenue down at least 15 percent, construction starts down more than 50 percent and interest revenue on savings accounts sinking rapidly, the work of balancing the county’s general fund has been difficult, budget director Elaine Marlow said.
“In fact, it’s been truly brutal,” she said.
For example, Marlow said, in 2007, the county earned about $2.4 million in interest income on its reserve funds. That dipped to $800,000 this year and the forecast calls for interest income of only about $550,000 in 2010.
“Then, as the county uses more of its reserves, it has fewer dollars to invest,” Marlow said.
Staff layoffs in January and June this year may be followed in 2010 with cutting an equivalent of eight more full-time employees out of about 440. These people work in the courts, the prosecutor’s, assessor’s and auditor’s offices and the planning department. Programs with substantial cuts include public health, parks, community development, senior services and those in the Washington State University cooperative extension office.
Sheriff Mark Brown, who released a public statement last month passionately arguing that his department can’t afford any cuts to public safety programs, may have to lay off emergency management and support staff.
“Every elected official and department head has pitched in and offered great suggestions to help us get through this financial crisis,” Marlow said.
The county also earlier this year cut back on the hours the offices of four departments are open to the public. The proposed 2010 budget calls for closing the county’s Camano Island office on Fridays.
The county commissioners could vote to increase property taxes by 1 percent, the most allowable by state law. However, the county could also call on an unused property taxing capacity to help balance the budget, Marlow said.
For the general fund, the 1 percent property tax increase would amount to less than a penny more for each $1,000 of assessed value and less than a penny per $1,000 for the county road fund. These increases would give the county $72,000 more in its general fund and $71,000 more in its road fund, she said.
The unused property tax capacity would allow for income increases of $66,000 for the general fund and $270,000 for the county road fund. Cost to the taxpayers would be less than a penny per $1,000 for the general fund and about 2 cents per $1,000 for the road fund.
“We still have one of the lowest tax rates in the state, but we don’t want to slide into unacceptable low levels of service,” said Commissioner John Dean of Camano Island. “I’m hopeful that by mid-year things won’t be quite as bleak as they appear right now. We have some union negotiations coming that could change this budget.”
Commissioner Helen Price Johnson of south Whidbey noted that all three commissioners donated back 10 percent of their paychecks mid-year, and that Commissioner Angie Homola donated an additional $5,000.
Though the budget process is painful and sometimes controversial, Johnson said, “It also is an opportunity to strengthen our relationships and look for innovative ways to provide services in this economy.”
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com.
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