No new taxes mean too few deputies in county

You’ve heard the story before. Snohomish County Sheriff Rick Bart keeps asking for more money to hire deputies to meet basic staffing levels. County Executive Bob Drewel keeps telling him the money simply isn’t there to do as much as they both would like. It’s a vicious circle.

What’s the answer? Nobody seems to know. Thanks to an already tight budget and the aftermath of Initiative 695, the county is in a position of trying to do more with less. The 2001 budget highlights a $1.7 million loss in criminal justice funding. And the county is absorbing the costs of deputies hired and paid for with federal grants that are quickly phasing out.

Now deputies are threatening to picket outside the county courthouse Friday if Drewel doesn’t get serious about adding more deputies to their roster.

Suggestions of apathy don’t sit well with the county executive’s office.

Drewel promised to give the sheriff’s office 25 deputies in five years and he’s already gone well beyond that commitment, said deputy executive Joni Earl.

That’s not much consolation to Sheriff Bart as he tries to explain to people why it sometimes takes so long for a deputy to respond to their calls. Yet, he doesn’t seem to have the solution, either.

Don’t bother with the annexation argument, which suggests that the need for deputies has decreased. Yes, parts of unincorporated county have been annexed by nearby cities. But the remaining areas are still growing and the number of deputies isn’t keeping up with it. And when the county began to make improvements, it started from an extremely understaffed position.

Drewel and the county council have been very supportive, increasing the criminal justice budget despite loss of revenue to annexations. Drewel and his office also deserve considerable credit for working to get a new jail and facilities for the sheriff’s office — not an easy task while deciding the future of the county’s offices and other hot topics.

Still, the staffing problem is unresolved.

"The bottom line is we need money," Bart said.

That is the bottom line, but it’s not that simple. Drewel can’t throw money at the sheriff’s office to hire some new deputies and leave it at that. There’s something called the ripple effect that has to be taken into consideration. For each deputy hired, the county also has to pay for equipment, more jail beds to accommodate the arrests that deputy will make, more prosecutors to handle the cases and so on. You get the picture.

Bart is right about one thing. "The whole system has to be made well at the same time. There’s the problem. It’s a huge hot potato. It’s getting worse because of the growth."

It’s time for the county to toss the hot potato to the people. County officials cringe at the thought of even hinting at a special levy to address criminal justice problems in our area. And they should. Tax increases should always be a last option.

We’re all going to have to make up our minds. Either we all (including incorporated residents who benefit considerably from county government services) want improved criminal justice services in Snohomish County or we’re going to stop complaining about the lack of it.

Read our lips: No new taxes may mean too few deputies.

SELECT *

FROM Talkback

WHERE Story LIKE ‘../Stories/00/9/28/13008610.cfm’

AND Dateverified LIKE ‘verified’

ORDER BY Dateposted

Talk back

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Opinion

toon
Editorial cartoons for Thursday, March 28

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Initiative promoter Tim Eyman takes a selfie photo before the start of a session of Thurston County Superior Court, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, in Olympia, Wash. Eyman, who ran initiative campaigns across Washington for decades, will no longer be allowed to have any financial control over political committees, under a ruling from Superior Court Judge James Dixon Wednesday that blasted Eyman for using donor's contributions to line his own pocket. Eyman was also told to pay more than $2.5 million in penalties. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Editorial: Initiative fee increase protects process, taxpayers

Bumped up to $156 from $5, the increase may discourage attempts to game the initiative process.

Protecting forests and prevent another landslide like Oso

Thank you for the powerful and heartbreaking article about the Oso landslide… Continue reading

Boeing’s downfall started when engineers demoted

Boeing used to be run by engineers who made money to build… Continue reading

Learn swimming safety to protect kids at beach, pool

Don’t forget to dive into water safety before hitting the pool or… Continue reading

Comment: Why shootings have decreased but gun deaths haven’t

High-capacity magazines and ‘Glock switches’ that allow automatic fire have increased lethality.

Washington state senators and representatives along with Governor Inslee and FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez break ground at the Swift Orange Line on Tuesday, April 19, 2022 in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Editorial: Community Transit making most of Link’s arrival

The Lynnwood light rail station will allow the transit agency to improve routes and frequency of buses.

toon
Editorial cartoons for Wednesday, March 27

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

An image of Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin is reflected in a storefront window during the State of the City Address on Thursday, March 21, 2024, at thee Everett Mall in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Editorial: State of city address makes case for Everett’s future

Mayor Franklin outlines challenges and responses as the city approaches significant decisions.

FILE - The massive mudslide that killed 43 people in the community of Oso, Wash., is viewed from the air on March 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Editorial: Mapping landslide risks honors those lost in Oso

Efforts continue in the state to map areas prone to landslides and prevent losses of life and property.

Burke: ‘Why not write about Biden, for once?’ Don’t mind if I do.

They asked; I’ll oblige. Let’s consider what the president has accomplished since the 2020 election.

Comment: Catherine missed chance to dispel shame of cancer

She wasn’t obligated to do so, but she might have used her diagnosis to educate a sympathetic public.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.