By Susanna Ray
Herald Writer
EVERETT — Local health and social service workers heard gloomy predictions Tuesday about what they can expect when state lawmakers reconvene in Olympia next month.
The message, delivered by a lobbyist and a handful of legislators, was that human service agencies are in more demand today to help deal with the aftermath of massive layoffs and budget cutbacks.
But at the same time, their resources will be drastically cut as the state faces its worst budget deficit in a decade.
And they can’t expect charities to pick up the slack, because "donor fatigue" from stepped-up giving for victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is threatening the livelihood of those groups.
"This is going to be a miracle year if something comes out in a positive manner, with these kinds of shortfalls," said Seth Dawson, the executive director of the nonprofit Common Ground for Children and a legislative lobbyist representing children and family interests.
The state is facing a projected deficit of $1 billion, due in large part to the economic slump that followed the terrorist attacks and the Boeing Co.’s substantial layoffs. Gov. Gary Locke, who is preparing a budget proposal to give to the Legislature in mid-December, has already asked state agencies to absorb more than half that deficit by cutting up to 15 percent from their expenses.
No one knows exactly how those cuts will trickle down to local agencies. But for example, Snohomish County’s largest mental health agency, Compass Health, receives about two-thirds of its funding from the state.
"This is not one of those typical ups and downs in the state’s economy," Dawson told a group of about 75 from local non-profit organizations, human service agencies and their concerned clients at the meeting held at Compass Health headquarters.
"Make no mistake about it, we will have to make severe cuts in our budget," said state Rep. Aaron Reardon, D-Everett.
Since Democrats won complete control of the legislative and executive arms of state government in last month’s election, they’ll now have the challenge of balancing those cuts while protecting traditional Democratic allies such as labor and environmental groups, Dawson said.
Increased political activism, such as contacting lawmakers and joining advocacy groups, would help make sure the expected cuts do the least amount of harm to those most vulnerable, Dawson said.
State Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, agreed, urging those in the audience to make their needs known before the legislative session gets going Jan. 14 and legislators’ "brains turn to mush" over the long, contentious days.
"Don’t hesitate to stand up and try to shame us" with letters, visits and phone calls, said Rep. Kelly Barlean, R-Langley. "You’ve got to increase public awareness for what you do for our community.
"The old adage ‘the squeaky wheel gets the grease’ has never been so true," Barlean added.
Carolyn Mawbey, a Compass Health social worker, echoed many of her colleagues’ concerns that other interest groups that are more vocal are getting all the attention and help. Everyone hears teachers complain about their salaries, Mawbey said, but her co-workers at an involuntary psychiatric hospital in Mukilteo are struggling by on food stamps.
"People are working hard to protect the vulnerable," Mawbey said. "It would be a shame if the people doing this job become vulnerable as well."
In an interesting twist to the doom-and-gloom discussion, talk turned to the vicious circle created by a spate of recent tax-cutting initiatives. Many of the health and social service workers and their clients voted for those measures, they said, because they needed the tax breaks.
But now they’re the ones who will suffer as the state loses revenue to pay for the services they need.
There should be a stamp required on measures like this year’s property tax-cutting Initiative 747 that says, "Vulnerable populations will be screwed," said an impassioned Phil McConnell, the executive director of Work Opportunities in Lynnwood.
You can call Herald Writer Susanna Ray at 425-339-3439
or send e-mail to ray@heraldnet.com.
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