Drago’s statement on Council’s adoption of 2011 King County Budget

November 15, 2010

Summary

Difficult choices reflect priority put on services that support people who have the least

Story

Metropolitan King County Councilmember Jan Drago released this statement on today’s vote approving the 2011 King County Budget:

“This was an extremely difficult budget, and grappling with a $60 million budget gap was no easy task. It was by far the most difficult budget I’ve dealt with in the 17 years I’ve been involved in local government. There were very difficult choices and, in the end, no easy answers or quick fixes. Our final budget was not able to avoid layoffs or service cuts, so we are faced with no other option here in King County than to live within our means.

“While the adopted budget is $5.1 billion, almost 90 percent of that money is already committed. The General Fund, which is where elected leaders have some discretion to make spending decisions, is only $621million. Of that, 76percent of the General Fund money pays for the county’s criminal justice programs.

“Knowing that the decisions we faced would be difficult and painful, my colleagues and I committed early on to make the process as transparent and open as possible to the public to help them understand these difficult circumstances. We took testimony from more than 400 people at five public hearings, with countless more who wrote to us with their concerns and their pleas. While we weren’t able to avoid some painful cuts, we were able to restore some critical programs, including domestic violence and sexual assault support programs, Family Court services, support for alternatives to incarceration, the Step Up program, the Court Appointed Special Advocate program.

“So much of what is happening today with local government budgeting affects the people that have the least, and we did as much as we could to try and restore the programs that really help the people in need. Some of these decisions were based on the heartfelt testimony we heard at the public meetings, and I want to thank everyone who made the decision to get involved and participate in the process. It’s important that people know they can make a difference.

“I want to thank my County Council colleagues and King County Executive Dow Constantine for keeping the lines of communication open and for truly making this a collaborative process from start to finish. I was very impressed with the level of collaboration from all branches of King County government these last eight weeks and the commitment to openness and transparency. I also want to thank the thousands of county employees who made important sacrifices that allowed us to avoid some layoffs and restore some of these critical services to the public. Together, we were able to work through these daunting challenges, and King County will be a better place to live and work because of our commitment to public service and our willingness to collaborate.”

King County Councilmember Drago represents the communities of West Seattle, North Highline, Vashon and Maury islands, Burien, Normandy Park, SoDo, International District/Chinatown, Pioneer Square, West Beacon Hill, and portions of SeaTac, Tukwila and West Hill.

Read more about this legislation on the King County Council’s LEGISEARCH system at https://mkcclegisearch.kingcounty.gov and type in “2010-0527”