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Pictured from left to right: Myself, my son Luca, my grandmother Lilia, and my daughter Luna, as we celebrated Lilia’s 92nd birthday earlier this month.
The County Council started this month with our annual August recess, but we are back in business and preparing for a busy couple of months ahead!
First, I would like to thank my staff, Lan, Jessie, Clara, and Lorena for keeping the district 4 office up and running during this summer recess and generally for all that they do. Without their efforts and commitment to improving the lives of King County residents, the work my office does, big and small, would not be possible.
After carving out time last month with my team to reflect on our work, I was able to use the summer council recess to step away and spend time with my extended family in Colombia. I was grateful to have the opportunity to visit my grandma Lilia and celebrate her 92nd birthday along with many of the rest of my family. I hope many of you also had the opportunity to visit with family and friends this summer.
Looking forward to the rest of the year, my colleagues and I will have a full schedule that includes planned work for the upcoming budget season, changes to the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, metro service changes, and more.
With gratitude,
Jorge
Budget Season is Right Around the Corner
King County’s fiscal year aligns with the calendar year. That means that the county budget year runs from January 1 through December 31, and is typically structured as a biennial, or two-year, budget cycle. As a result, the County Council deliberates and passes at least one budget every fall. In some years, this includes work only on an omnibus budget, which is a proposal including a wide range of subjects seeking to make adjustments for the current budget cycle. Some years, that may also include work on a future budget set to start on January 1 of the following year.
This fall, the Council’s work will include deliberation on both the fourth omnibus of the 2023-24 biennial budget and the 2025 annual budget. The county will return to biennial budgets in 2026 but will implement a single year budget in 2025 in order to accommodate the shift of county elections to even numbered years. The Council expects to receive the Executive’s proposals for both the fourth omnibus budget for the 2023-24 biennium, and the 2025 annual budget proposal in September.
Over the next few months, I’ll join my colleagues in considering these proposals. I anticipate this to kick-off the week of September 24, when the Executive is anticipated to transmit his budget proposals and Council will receive our first briefing. In October, the Council will begin intensive budget panel briefings. Residents will have the opportunity to provide comment to Council during public hearings, including at evening meetings that I’ll share information on once they are finalized.
This is also the next opportunity to invest resources in the work that makes our communities stronger, more connected, and resilient through district grant awards.
I welcome eligible non-profits, community organizations, and local governments to apply for one-time annual grant funding from King County to be included in the 2025 annual budget. Grant funds can be used to support a range of activities including new or existing projects, programs, and capital needs.
Keep an eye on my social media pages (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram) for an announcement when the Expression of Interest will be available.
Pictured from left to right: My colleague, Councilmember Claudia Balducci, and me.
County Council expresses our intent around the Clark Children and Family Justice Center
On Tuesday, the Council unanimously approved a motion declaring the Council’s intention to maintain operation of the secure detention facility at the Children and Family Justice Center – the County’s youth detention center – while supporting efforts to improve the youth legal system and invest in community supports.
As I shared in previous enews, the original motion to express the Council’s position on this issue was brought forward by Councilmember Reagan Dunn. As the motion came before the full council, I worked with Councilmembers Zahilay and Dembowski to offer a new striking amendment that emphasized the need to transform King County’s approach to youth detention – focusing on trauma-informed strategies like mentorship, family supports, behavioral health services and more – while maintaining a secure facility. Additional amendments were brought by Councilmembers Balducci and Upthegrove that further strengthened the Council’s commitment to increasing supports for youth and continuing our support for the Executive’s community engagement.
Violence persists in our community despite the presence of a youth detention center, which signals that secure detention alone is insufficient to reach our goals of community safety. The Council’s action demonstrates commitment to a more restorative and holistic response to harmful youth behavior, while still making it clear that secure facilities play a role in ensuring community safety. The motion adopted by the Council articulates the need for additional and improved resources available to youth while in detention and additional interventions for youth that prevent involvement with the youth legal system in the first place. We can do better, and I look forward to working on concrete proposals to advance the goals articulated by the adopted motion.
I was grateful that many of you reached out to express your views on this important issue and also appreciated the hundreds of community members who provided public comment during the deliberations in full council and the law and justice committee. I look forward to continued engagement on how to create a safer, healthier community.
Source: https://kingcountymetro.blog/2024/08/19/king-county-executive-and-sheriffs-office-announce-arrests-as-part-of-operation-safe-transit-initiative/
Metro Transit Service Changes Coming this Fall
Starting September 14th, King County Metro will be making significant changes to its service, including in areas of district 4.
Metro will upgrade and integrate new bus service, adding three new bus routes, revising nine routes, and replacing 10 routes. The new network will include east-west connections to new Link 1 Line stations and expanded evening and weekend service. Many of these changes will impact routes serving district 4 (including routes 3, 4, 16, 20, 28, 45, and 345) so we encourage you to review the site linked below to learn whether routes that you use might be impacted.
Update on Proposed Revisions to the King County Regional Homelessness Authority Interlocal Agreement
What is an ILA?
An interlocal agreement is a contract between government entities to outline agreements to provide public services. In this case, the KCRHA ILA lays out the governance structure and partnership between the City of Seattle and King County to support the work of the KCRHA. The previous ILA, signed in 2019, technically expires at the end of this year, but would automatically renew if no action was taken to revise or terminate the agreement.
What would the proposed revised ILA accomplish?
The proposed revision to the ILA would make several changes to the structure and processes at the KCRHA. Most meaningful, perhaps, is a proposed change in Board structure for the organization. Previously, the KCRHA had two boards: the Governing Committee, made up primarily of elected officials, and the Implementation Board, made up of community experts.
This proposed ILA revision streamlines this structure to one “Governing Board” which will be made up of elected officials and community members with lived experience of homelessness. This new structure is the result of feedback from former KCRHA CEOs, who have noted that the multiple board structure was a barrier to efficient, timely action at the KCRHA.
As a member of the KCRHA’s current Governing Committee, I was grateful to have been engaged with King County Executive Dow Constantine in the development of this proposed revised ILA. While I agree that we need to maximize efficiency and accountability at the KCRHA, I will continue to advocate for meaningful and frequent opportunities for feedback from our community members, experts, and homelessness providers. I believe that our actions are informed by those closest to the issue and will continue to push for these voices to be incorporated into decision-making at the KCRHA.
What’s Next?
The proposed KCRHA ILA will move through both City and County Council deliberations this fall to determine if any amendments to the proposal are needed.
Below is the schedule for County Council briefings and discussions if you are interested in tuning in.Please note that this is subject to change.
 There will be opportunities for public comment at the Committee of the Whole and full Council. You can learn more about how to participate at COW at this link, and at full Council at this link.
Law and Justice Update
On Wednesday, the Law and Justice Committee held its last regularly scheduled meeting of the year before all Councilmembers’ focus turns to budget. At the meeting, we began with a report on several diversion programs, with representatives from the Community Center for Alternative Programs (CCAP), the Community Diversion Program, and Let Everyone Advance with Dignity (also known as Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion or LEAD). They highlighted some of the great work that their programs do to provide supports and alternative approaches to accountability for individuals with low level charges who may otherwise end up in detention. Then, we heard an update on the latest Independent Monitoring Report on the Clark Children and Family Justice Center (CCFJC). Following that report, the committee decided not to take action on the proposed ordinance relating to solitary confinement policy at the CCFJC at the request of the sponsor, to allow for more work on the proposal. We wrapped up with a briefing from the Office of Law Enforcement Oversight on their Community Guidance Framework for Policy Reviews. To view the meeting, click here.
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Pictured from left to right: Touring Sound Foundations NW with Barb Oliver; Myself, my policy advisor Jessie Friedmann, Councilmember Strauss, and Councilmember Strauss’ District Director Joel Raphael, and Ballard Food Bank Executive Director Jen Muzia in conversation about our homelessness response in Ballard.
Housing: Accessibility and Affordability
I was fortunate to visit a number of critical partners in the work to combat homelessness and housing instability in King County throughout July and August.
I was honored to join City of Seattle Councilmember Dan Strauss, Ballard Food Bank, Catholic Community Services, and Evergreen Treatment Services for a critical conversation about how to coordinate wraparound services and housing for our unhoused neighbors in Ballard. These organizations have done critical work in addressing the holistic needs of neighbors who are struggling, including food, health care, pet care, behavioral health treatment, and housing. I am committed to looking for opportunities to expand and further this work in District 4 and throughout our region.
I also appreciated the opportunity to learn more about the work of Barb Oliver and Sound Foundations NW to construct tiny homes for our unhoused neighbors. I share Barb’s belief that we can significantly reduce homelessness, and that tiny homes can be part of the solution to this urgent issue.
Finally, I had the opportunity to attend the groundbreaking for two new and transformative permanently affordable homeownership projects in the Phinney Ridge neighborhood. I joined other local leaders to hear from inspiring speakers on the significant impact these 38 permanently affordable homes will have in the community. Thank you to Homestead Community Land Trust for embarking on such a wonderful project that will help us toward our goal of increasing access to affordable housing for King County residents.
I’m deeply appreciative to these organizations and countless others for their expertise, commitment, and deep compassion for our unhoused neighbors. As an elected official and a member of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority’s Governing Committee, supporting and furthering this important work is one of my top priorities.
Pictured with other local government leaders in Phinney Ridge.
King County resources support a range of important efforts across the region. To help community members learn more about various county grants and funding opportunities, my office has created a new Grants and Funding Opportunities page on my King County Council website.
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In this month’s e-newsletter, I am highlighting two grant opportunities through 4Culture – the inaugural Doors Open Facilities grant and Sustained Support grant. The application deadline for both grants is Wednesday, September 4 at 5 pm. For help and guidance, the 4Culture team put together a library of videos from previous workshops and tutorials to help with your application process. |
Doors Open Facilities Grant
The Doors Open Facilities grants help organizations acquire, build, or renovate the brick-and-mortar buildings and spaces that make cultural experiences possible.
Sustained Support Grant
Sustained Support will provide one-year, unrestricted funding to meet the day-to-day needs of arts, preservation, heritage, and science and technology organizations. Apply to the program that best fits your organization.
Jorge L. Barón
he/him/his – hear my name
King County Councilmember, District 4
(206) 477-1004 jorge.baron@kingcounty.gov
www.kingcounty.gov/baron
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