Public hearings scheduled on county budget

With what is now projected to be a $90 million shortfall in the County general fund for 2009, the Metropolitan King County Council has declared public safety, health and quality of life as its first priorities for funding in the County budget.

September 22, 2008 8:14 pm

With what is now projected to be a $90 million shortfall in the County general fund for 2009, the Metropolitan King County Council has declared public safety, health and quality of life as its first priorities for funding in the County budget.

The public will have a chance to speak to its priorities at one of six public hearings that have now been scheduled through the county.

The public hearings will be led by Council member Larry Phillips, chair of the 2009 Budget Review and Adoption Committee. The six hearings are set in different regions of King County to allow all residents to share their testimony:

• Tuesday, Oct. 14 – Pacific Cascade Freshman Campus, 24635 S.E. Issaquah-Fall City Road, Issaquah

• Thursday, Oct. 16 – Maleng Regional Justice Center, Courtroom 3F, 401 4th Ave. N., Kent

• Tuesday, Oct. 21 – Finn Hill Junior High School, 8040 Northeast 132nd Street, Kirkland

• Thursday, Oct. 23 – Shoreline Conference Center, Shoreline Room, 18560 1st Avenue Northeast, Shoreline

• Tuesday, Oct. 28 – King County Council Chambers, 516 Third Avenue, Room 1200, Seattle

• Monday, Nov. 10 – King County Council Chambers, 516 Third Avenue, Room 1200, Seattle, starting at 1:30 p.m.

All meetings begin at 7 p.m.

Executive Ron Sims will transmit his proposed 2009 budget to the council on Monday, Oct. 13.

The County Council’s priorities include:

• Declare the protection of public safety, health and enhancement of quality of life to be its top priority, and that before reducing funding in those areas it would look first to reduce or eliminate services deemed non-essential and use a prudent portion of existing reserves to preserve essential services in the short term,

• Refocus the $8 million in reserves that remain of funds set aside for the King County Annexation Initiative to those potential annexation areas that are actively being considered by local cities, and redirecting remaining funds towards public safety services in the urban unincorporated areas. After four years and more than $2 million in operations and staffing costs, only two of the largest urban unincorporated areas have successfully annexed, resulting in only minimal savings to the county.