The Future We Choose: Snohomish
County’s Budget for 2018
Last month,
I submitted my recommended budget to the County Council. They will now
deliberate and pass a budget to fund Snohomish County government. I wanted to give you some details about my proposed budget
and what my priorities are for 2018.
As
Executive, I have been committed from day one to ensuring that we prepare for
what we are facing as a community. I believe we must build the future we choose
and not just accept what is handed to us.
County
government is the place where the people’s business gets done. We keep our
streets safe. We run the most important parts of the justice system, including
the Sheriff’s Office, the Courts, and the jail. We manage the machinery of
elections. We collect taxes. We assess property values. We manage parklands and
fairgrounds. We build and maintain roads. We take care of waste disposal and
surface water. We manage an airport, and provide services for our most
vulnerable citizens. County government
is truly the government closest to the people.
We provide the services essential for our quality of life.
My
recommended budget for 2018 is fair, balanced, and puts an emphasis on key
priorities. Those five priorities are:
1. We must
maintain a safe, resilient, and livable Snohomish County.
We must
begin by keeping public safety our top priority because we choose a future
where our streets are safe and our families secure.
Public
safety has always been my number one priority. With over 75% of our general
fund budget going toward law and justice agencies, our top priority is clear.
My colleagues on the County Council have proven time and again that it's their
highest priority, too.
That's why
my recommended budget: restores full
funding to the Sheriff’s Office for 2017 and 2018; eliminates cuts for most
other public safety agencies in 2018; adds five new deputies to the Sheriff’s
Office; funds necessary technology upgrades to improve the safety and
timeliness of Sheriff’s Office operations; and otherwise continues our history
of ensuring the hard-working sheriff, his deputies, and civilian staff have the
resources they need to face our challenges.
As part of
our effort to build a safer, more resilient, more livable community, I’m also
focusing more time and resources on our efforts to assist veterans. These brave
Americans volunteered to serve our country in uniform, and we have an
obligation to do all we can to assist them as they transition to civilian life
and particularly when they fall on hard times.
2. We must
strengthen and diversify our local economy.
Last year I
launched the Snohomish County Economic Development Initiative. This initiative
established sector leads within Snohomish County government for nine high
priority areas of opportunity. We are making progress in building open channels
of communication between those in the private sector and areas of greatest
economic potential in the county.
We have
already had some early success, including the recent announcement of Comcast’s
investment of over $1.5 million in Arlington and Marysville to support the
development of the proposed new manufacturing zone.
Earlier this
year I also announced a “Smart County Initiative” to gather ideas about how to
better link our urban and rural communities. The more our community takes
advantage of the high-tech tools available to us, the more likely we are to
bridge the gap between those who are enjoying the fruits of our vibrant economy
and those who are not.
3. We must
improve transportation mobility.
In my
budget, I also launched our Snohomish County Neighborhoods Initiative. I want
to partner with my colleagues on the County Council to focus on neighborhood
gridlock and ways we can address chokepoints to help ease congestion on our
local roads. This initiative incorporates the countywide sidewalk program which
is focused on improving safety around schools and enhancing neighborhood
connectivity.
Also helping
our transportation system will be the start of commercial flights from Paine
Field. We may be less than a year away from that eventuality, and it will be a
game changer for our residents and businesses. It means that we will no longer
have to drive through Seattle to get to an airport. One will now be just
minutes away, connecting us to the world. With a commercial terminal there will
be more opportunities for our existing businesses and more tools for us to
attract new businesses.
4. We must
improve customer service and make county government more efficient and
responsive.
Another priority
as Executive is to do all I can to improve customer service at the county,
because the future we choose to create is one where every resident is served
quickly and effectively.
One of our greatest
early successes has been in our Department of Planning and Development
Services. They have been able to drop the time it takes to process one type of permit
by over 80%! PDS has also been a leader in our efforts to implement the
continuous improvement, lean model through our STEP Initiative. We now have a
fully-functioning continuous improvement office that is aggressively working to
change our culture from one that is more management-driven to one that is
employee-driven, solution oriented, and more efficient.
We are also
working closely with our colleagues to extend service hours to better serve the
public, since we had to shorten hours during the Great Recession.
5. We must
maintain sustainable budgets and maximum transparency.
Our budgets
can only be sustainable if we treat every taxpayer dollar with the respect it
deserves. People work hard for their money, and we must treat the resources
under our care with the same discipline with which it was earned.
The future
we choose is the one where our budget is sustainable and our core
responsibilities are fully funded. One day this economic boom will end, and it
is incumbent on us to be ready when that happens.
For the last
ten years, we have had to find savings every year, since our set expenses rise
faster than revenues. As you probably know, county governments across our state
wrestle with costs rising faster than revenues. That means we must make
strategic choices about the use of limited resources, and we are doing just
that. We also want to ensure that our residents get the kind of service and
professionalism they deserve and expect.
We have made
many big decisions that have served to strengthen the county’s overall
financial position: we cut the cost of the courthouse in half, saving somewhere
near $80 million; we are addressing chronic problems like long-deferred
maintenance and outdated technology; we are investing in lean practices through
our STEP Initiative to ensure we are a modern, empowered workforce solving
problems; we are prudently rebuilding our reserves to sustain us during times
of economic uncertainty; and our fiscal restraint is putting us on a much
stronger footing for when the next recession hits.
Snohomish
County is currently the second fastest growing county in the United States. Our
secret is out! With commercial air service and light rail coming, UW Bothell
and the new WSU campus both growing, a redeveloping Port of Everett, and so
much more, there are a lot of exciting things happening in Snohomish County.
I look
forward to working with my partners on the County Council to approve a fair,
effective, and balanced budget for 2018.
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