Twelve things King County can do now to cut expenses and narrow budget shortfall

Council urges Executive to make same tough choices now being made by households

With what is now projected to be a $90 million shortfall in the general fund for 2009, the budget leadership team of the Metropolitan King County Council is calling on the County Executive to take immediate steps to cut non-essential expenses in order to narrow the budget gap. The members also urged the Executive to incorporate those cost-saving measures in the 2009 budget proposal he is scheduled to deliver on Oct. 13.

“King County must cut spending now, making many of the same tough choices that our citizens must make in their household budgets,” said Councilmember Larry Phillips, chair of the Council’s 2009 Budget Review and Adoption Committee (BRAC). “With the news regarding our local economy turning increasingly negative, taking action now to trim costs will lessen the severity of cuts in next year’s budget.”

“We understand that these changes will not solve the county’s larger budget issues, but these are many of the same tough choices that households are forced to make when money is tight,” said Councilmember Jane Hague, a BRAC Panel Chair.

“This list represents actions that the County can immediately take to save money,” said Councilmember Bob Ferguson, a BRAC Panel Chair. “They will not eliminate the tough decisions that we will have to make in the 2009 budget, but they can start to put a dent in the budget deficit.”

“Providing basic services to citizens needs to be our priority as we examine the expenditures in our budget,” said Councilmember Kathy Lambert, a BRAC Panel Vice Chair.

The magnitude of the projected 2009 budget shortfall is unprecedented in the history of King County. The letter sent today to the County Executive outlines twelve specific areas where Councilmembers urge immediate savings:

• Eliminate the use of overtime shifts whenever possible and otherwise limit the use of overtime.

• Re-examine existing initiatives that have not delivered anticipated results, such as the annexation initiative.

• Suspend proposed new initiatives that may increase the cost of government, such as the recently announced “Bike and Walk” incentive program.

• Extend the replacement period for vehicles and tie vehicle replacement to the mileage and condition of the vehicle.

• Cut all vacant, non-essential Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Positions that are not essential to the operation of government. Re-evaluate the need for these positions at a later date.

• Cut all non-essential Term Limited Temporary (TLT) Positions in 2008. For 2009, do not include new TLT’s not related to essential functions.

• Eliminate the Copy Center which has not proven itself to be a viable line of county business. The current model in which all agencies in the downtown campus support the Copy Center, regardless of whether they use those services, is untenable and unnecessarily increases the cost of county business.

• Implement a hiring freeze on all staff where there would be no threat to public safety or continued operation of essential county government functions.

• Ban all out-of-jurisdiction travel where this financial action will not interfere with essential county government operations or advocacy for our county government.

• Control communications costs by reducing or eliminating the costs associated with unnecessary communications, cell phones and printing.

• Freeze construction spending for capital projects not yet under contract. Do not enter into construction contracts for capital projects funded by the general fund until completion of the 2009 budget, except for those projects required for ensuring continued operation of essential county government functions.

• Reduce operating costs. Immediately identify and implement any changes that could result in a reduction of operating costs or energy consumption without interfering with the provision of essential county government services. This would include reducing energy consumption by encouraging employees and departments to turn off lights and computers when not in use and any other power reduction options considered feasible.

The County Council has declared public safety, health and quality of life as its first priorities for funding in the 2009 County budget. The Council has set six public hearings throughout the county to take testimony before adopting the final budget just before Thanksgiving.

For the dates of six public hearings on the 2009 budget,
visit the King County Council’s Budget Web site