County Council Budget Commitee hears from local officials, citizens

Issaquah Councilman Dave Kappler and North Bend Mayor Ken Hearing had the undivided attention of the King County Council Budget Review and Adoption Committee at the Pacific Cascade Freshman Campus in Issaquah on Tuesday.

Kappler and Hearing attended the first of five meetings the committee will host in different cities within the county in an effort to get more feedback on the county’s proposed budget earlier in the process. King County Executive Ron Sims on Monday presented a $4.9 billion budget with a projected $93.4 million deficit.

“There are some big challenges to deal with in terms of the deficit in the general fund,” Councilmember Larry Phillips said.

Hearing shared his concerns with the committee, including his primary worries: judicial services and his city’s contract for police service with the King County Sheriff’s Office.

“What’s the level of service going to be? I can’t imagine it’s going to remain the same,” he said. “Our level of service will go down, I’m certain, and the cost won’t.”

Councilmember Kathy Lambert said she’s very concerned about cuts to the sheriff’s office, in particular the fact that if there are fewer officers on duty, there may be a delay of service in some cases while a deputy waits for a second deputy to arrive in order to enter with backup as required.

“It puts our officers in danger and it puts our citizens in danger, and I don’t think that’s OK,” Lambert said.

Phillips said the council is taking concerns about the sheriff’s office very seriously, and passed a motion in August that said their top priorities in the budget process will be maintaining public safety, health and quality of life.

Both Hearing and Kappler also had worries about cuts to human services, which could affect the food banks and other services in both communities.

Kappler noted that Issaquah is very dependent on sales tax revenue, and has seen some decline. “We’re more concerned about 2010 than 2009 at this point,” he said. “(But) It’s gonna be a tough year.”

The county budget committee afterward took comments from the public. They will hold four more public hearing meetings:

• Thursday, Oct. 16 at the Maleng Regional Justice Center Jury Room, 2E (2nd Floor), 401 4th Ave. N. in Kent.

• Tuesday, Oct. 21 at the Finn Hill Junior High School Library, 8040 N.E. 132nd St. in Kirkland.

• Thursday, Oct. 23 at the Shoreline Conference Center, Arden Room, 18560 1st Avenue Northeast in Shoreline.

• Tuesday, Oct. 28 at the Southwest Conference Room, 12th Floor King County Courthouse, 516 Third Ave. in Seattle.

All meetings begin at 5:30 p.m. Coverage will be available on King County Television, on Comcast and Broadstripe Cable Channel 22. For more information, visit www.metrokc.gov.

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