Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon is furthering his commitment to streamlining county government.
Reardon said Tuesday he would set the tone for the second year of his administration in his state of the county address, scheduled for Wednesday at the South Snohomish County Chamber of Commerce luncheon at Embassy Suites Hotel in Lynnwood.
One goal Reardon set out is the creation of a Department of Emergency Management Community Security, a streamlined version of the current Emergency Management System. He said the current system is the not most efficient way for various public agencies to share information and coordinate services needed during emergencies. Reardon said his proposal will not cost any taxpayer money.
Reardon said he wants to continue to build on elements of his first year in office. Among those are further developing a business plan for the county, of which South Snohomish County figures to play a large role.
Reardon pledged to work with the mayors of county cities to further economic development efforts, and pledged additional regulatory reform. The executive has made expanding the biotech industry base in the county a priority, and says that suitable land will be available for that kind of development through regulatory reform.
Part of his economic development plan, which will include industry leaders, is to help local contractors get contracts to do work on high-profile projects such as repairs to Interstate 5 and the Hanford clean-up efforts in Eastern Washington.
Economic development, he said, is critical to providing an adequate tax base for the county, which faced, he said, a $16.5 million budget deficit when he took office. Since property tax initiatives limit how much governments can raise taxes, Reardon said it was important for the county to have a larger economic base.
A public-private partnership was announced as part of the ongoing battle against methamphetamine use and related crime. The program is a voluntary one where merchants would keep over-the-counter cold medication behind a locked counter to prevent mass thefts of the products, a central ingredient in meth production.
The idea for the program came from a Lynnwood police officer, T.J. Brooks, during a ride-along.
The executive took part of the speech to talk about his first year’s accomplishment, particularly in terms of quickly adapting some of his campaign goals. He said the county has ended deficit spending and enacted his plan for priority-based budgeting.
He also cited the county’s increased commitment to customer service as one of the successes of his first year.
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