October 17, 2000

Sims offers 'lean' $2.4 billion budget

King County Executive Ron Sims on Monday delivered a 2001 budget that emphasizes public safety while keeping a lid on property tax increases.

The $2.4 billion spending plan, the second largest government budget in the state, left even fiscal conservatives on council apparently pleased.

"This is a Republican budget," said Bellevue Republican Rob McKenna. "It holds the line on property taxes, and puts a priority on criminal justice. These are priorities my colleagues have had for many years."

The first of five budget workshops, open to the public, will be held tonight at 7 p.m. at the Regional Justice Center in Kent, 401 Fourth Ave. N. The next workshop will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Sunny Hills Elementary School, 3200 Issaquah-Pine Lake Road, in Sammamish.

The council is expected to approve the budget by Thanksgiving, but McKenna said two initiatives on the November ballot -- I-745, which would funnel 90 percent of transportation dollars to roads, and I-722, which would hold increases in property tax levies to 2 percent a year -- are "significant unknowns" awaiting the budget process.

Sims called his proposal "very lean," in response to public concerns about property tax increases.

Sims requested a 2.6 percent increase in the property tax. Sims said, with each of his last four budgets, he has incrementally reduced the property tax increases. The executive has the option of asking the council for an increase of 6 percent in property taxes each year.

While Sims said the 2.6 percent increase shows his resolve to reduce reliance on property taxes, McKenna said the political reality is that the executive does not have the "super majority" on the council required by Referendum 47 to ask for an increase greater than the rate of inflation, 2.6 percent. "He's being pragmatic and counting his votes," said McKenna.

Still, Sims emphasized that the budget is conservative. "There are no 'exciting' new things or special projects," he said. "We have held staff levels virtually flat from the last year."

More than 67 percent of the budget's expense fund -- about $328 million -- will go toward what Sims called his "major priority" -- public safety and criminal justice. While the net effect of the budget would be an overall decrease of 31 county employees, the Sheriff's Office would receive an additional 22 full-time employees. The budget calls for an increase of $7.3 million for the Sheriff's Office, including an increase of $1.2 million for overtime.

"The executive's budget gives us adequate resources to do our job," said King County Prosecuting Attorney Norm Maleng. "This is a good budget for criminal justice agencies." Maleng said the number of felony filings in King County has increased 15 percent this year over last, and 46 percent in the last five years, creating "a huge increase in workload."

Sims' proposal calls for a reduction in spending in certain areas of the county's 1999-2005 capital improvement plan. Cuts include the Royal Brougham pedestrian bridge, Marion Street pedestrian bridge and Issaquah Highlands park-and-ride. The 2001 capital improvement plan calls for $526 million in improvements in the areas of transit, roads, wastewater and other major public facilities.

The spending plan also emphasizes the need for the county to boost its budget for managed care contracts and medical benefits. Sims said for the county to remain competitive with private sector employers in a tight labor market, it must increase the budget for administrative services by 16 percent, or $16 million.

Council member Greg Nickels joined McKenna and Jane Hague in endorsing the budget as "very responsive," predicting that 95 percent of Sims' plan would remain unchanged.

"We will really look at delivering more with less," said Hague. "Clearly, one of the most important things to do is to make sure the streets are safe."