Slog - Comments on I Read the County Budget So You Don't Have To

Comment by Mike in Renton

Mike in Renton — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:50:24 -0800

Call me a category nerd, but I don't think stuff about the county budget belongs under city.

Comment by lily

lily — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:53:55 -0800

Thanks, Erica! Unfortunately, I now feel a little less sympathy for the bike incentive program biting the dust.

Comment by Rita

Rita — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:56:33 -0800

You missed one BIG cut. Under Sims' proposal, the prosecutor's office is cut by 5% and the Office of Public Defense is cut by 3 times that amount at 15.9%. And they weren't equal to begin with. So much for justice in King County.

Comment by Good Times

Good Times — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:10:48 -0800

Mandatory 10-day furloughs at the KCPAO according to the proposal sent out by Dan Satterburg this afternoon in an all-staff email. Oh well, at least we might get to keep the COLAs.

And I agree with you Rita@3 -- no one's been talking about the cuts to OPD. A lot of people at the prosecutor's office are pissed about them as well. Good public defenders are critical to the system.

Comment by Bellevue Ave

Bellevue Ave — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:29:20 -0800

This title is stupid considering now that you've read it and reported it, i feel obligated to double check your comprehension.

Comment by Gidge

Gidge — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:35:54 -0800

Rita,
Out of curiosity, where did you get those percentages? The budget for OPD is largely driven by the number of cases filed (they get $x for each misdemeanor and $y for each felony). I think a lot of the shift for OPD is the fact that many cases will now be filed as misdemeanors, rather than felonies, but without being able to look at the stats, I'm not sure.

Comment by Louie

Louie — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:41:04 -0800

Sounds like the Stranger is sweet on a Larry P run. Thats all fine and dandy, but where is Larry P getting the money from?

I am all for competitive races,and candidates who can solve problems, but Larry p just seems like an opportunist with a lot of hot air and an Eddie Munster hair cut.

All of Washington's counties are in deep shit, not just King County. It seems to be a result, at least to me, of Eyman's initiatives as well as people expecting counties to pay for services, such as public health, but not wanting to pay taxes.

I would love to see Larry P's "alternative" budget.

Comment by Creek

Creek — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:05:12 -0800

I contend that King County could save tens of thousands of dollars a year by putting a cap on overtime claims from high-seniority jail guards. Every few years one of the dailies prints a list of the year's highest paid county employees, and it will turn out that a select few senior jail guards typically claim and get paid for more overtime hours than base hours. If my memory serves, even the County Executive gets paid substantially less per year than those senior jail guards who know how to manipulate the system.

I urge The Stranger to check into how much in overtime bonuses King County doled out to its senior jail staff last year.

Comment by Will in Seattle

Will in Seattle — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:19:54 -0800

You call it "public safety" ... I call it fear-mongering.

There is NO reason why the share of the county budget going to police, jails, and courts should increase FASTER than the increase in population EACH AND EVERY YEAR for the past few decades.

NONE.

Comment by Simac

Simac — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 00:00:49 -0800

So what I'm curious about: let's say we wanted to save any or all of these programs, especially the mental health court (which is a resounding success). Then what is Sims proposing to still fund that that maybe doesn't deserve continued funding? Given the shortfall, cuts have to occur somewhere, what kinds of priorities is Sims setting?

Comment by ABM

ABM — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 18:10:30 -0800

A lot of these programs shouldn't of been funded with tax dollars to begin with & then maybe people whom think they should be funded will find ways to find them without tax dollars.