SEATTLE -- King County Executive Ron Sims has called for 400 jobs to be cut to address a $93 million budget shortfall.

Sims calls it a life boat strategy -- to give the state legislature time to come to the rescue with more ways for the county to raise tax revenue.

“The lifeboat preserves the adult drug diversion court and the mental health court, so the people with mental illness and drug addictions can get treatment and find a safe haven,” Sims said.

Sims said there still will have to be job cuts.

“I have the very sad duty of eliminating nearly 400 positions, some of them friends that I have known for decades,” Sims said.

Not all 400 jobs cuts are filled positions, but 150 to 200 people will get layoff notices on Tuesday.

In all, there are 13,000 county employees.

Sims blamed King County's budget gap on the slowing national economy, saying King County is taking in less from real estate sales and sales tax.

Sims said he'll spend much of the county's reserves to prevent further cuts in law enforcement and courts until the end of next June.

Sims plans to balance the budget by requiring that county unions accept $10 million less in cost of living increases than their current contracts require.

“I think the issue is, are we going to be able to secure our 10 million and the answer is quite confident,” Sims said.

County Council Budget Chairman Larry Phillips is not confident the budget is balanced.

“It becomes a budget of one-time release capsules of uncertain outcomes and prolonged agony,” Phillips said.