New Budget Cuts Proposed In King County

Virtually all remaining discretionary services in King County could be cut after county executive Kurt Triplett revealed his plan Thursday to deal with a $50 million budget hole.

"Anything that we're not required to do by the state or is not a regional function I will be proposing to cut," Triplett said when he announced the first of three rounds of cuts in his 2010 budget proposal. The first would cut $16.6 million in overhead, administrative and general government services in King County.

“The reality is we're going to be laying people off. There will be significant layoffs,” Triplett said.

He proposed laying off workers, closing some parks and eliminating all general fund money for animal control. The county hopes to offload some of those parks in unincorporated areas by transferring them to nearby cities.

Triplet said his budget cuts will go deep and give priority to direct services to residents.

"Some may suggest that we go even deeper, I do not believe it would be responsible for us to do so,” Triplett said.

Most county departments will see about a 10 percent cut in 2010, but fewer cuts to public health services and regional criminal justice services. Specifically, the prosecutor, jail, the superior and district courts and public defense will take a smaller percentage of cuts.

The only local service that will continue to be a priority for funding is the sheriff’s office.

All training dollars for King County employees will also be cut. Triplett said it could potentially increase the county’s liability in certain situations because it may not be able to ensure staff are up to speed on the latest legal requirements or training in their field.

The executive office itself will take a 10 percent cut, saving King County $1.3 million.

“We are at the point of jeopardizing the ability of the government to function if we cut deeper than 10 percent into administrative services such as the budget office, information technology, finance and human resources,” Triplett said.

He also challenged the King County Council to make a similar 10 percent reduction.

“These cuts are real, they are deep and they will likely be permanent. They will have a real impact on our ability to function," Triplett said. “The only real solution to maintaining current services is a change in state law and the way counties are financed.”

Counties do not have the same taxing authority as cities and a 2007 report commissioned by the state says Washington laws have created a structural deficit for all counties in Washington that can only be solved with changes in state law.

Triplett said he will announce two more rounds of budget cuts in the weeks ahead. The proposed cuts won’t be final until the budget is submitted to the King County Council on Sept. 27.

King County serves a population larger than 14 states and has a budget equal to or larger than seven states.