FACS cut by Gregoire; Orcas Chair challenges the call

Yes, in our backyard — Governor Gregoire’s plan to cut advisory boards in an effort to reduce the state budget deficit includes San Juan County agencies, including the Ferry Advisory Committee.

This local committee has been particularly active and effective among other Puget Sound FACs. The FACs are appointed by local jurisdictions, and report to Washington State Ferries (WSF) as an advisory committee, all under the authority of state law. “It is this authority that the Governor proposes to eliminate,” said Ed Sutton, Chair of the San Juan Ferry Advisory Committee.

“I, and our own Council, have believed that this relationship is strange, such that there is no responsibility for the local FAC to report or coordinate with the County Council. A year or so ago, our Council revised the ordinance that spoke to that issue and established that, as far as San Juan County was concerned, the FAC was a functioning committee of the Council.

County Councilman Howie Rosenfeld has been the San Juan FAC’s conduit to the Council. The FAC meets regularly and reports to the Council periodically.

“San Juan County is ahead of the curve on this issue and has created a working relationship with our FAC that is, perhaps, a better mechanism to interface with the [state Department of Transportation] and its minions,” reports Sutton.

Ferries Division Secretary David Moseley said on Feb. 13, “The FACs are one of 154 groups that the Governor has identified for elimination.”

Moseley gave assurances that if the advisory board cuts are enacted, local input will still be considered. “We would engage with elected officials who represent ferry-served communities and would continue to hold public meetings.

“We are always looking for ways to strengthen and improve communication with ferry-served communities. We have demonstrated our commitment to working with the communities and plan to continue developing these relationships into the future.

“We understand that the Governor is looking at ways to cut costs and streamline programs, and we continue with our own cost reduction efforts, which have amounted to nearly $44 million for the 2007-2009 biennium.”

Sutton attended its Executive Council meeting on Feb. 12. He said, “We reviewed and discussed the Revised Draft Long-Range Plan and the Governor’s government reform proposal. I reaffirmed my commitment to engaging with ferry-served communities and encouraged the members to continue to communicate their concerns to the Legislature.”

On Feb. 12, the FAC Executive Council discussed Gregoire’s plan to eliminate the advisory board, and they also spoke by telephone with Jill Satran of the Govenor’s office. Sutton said, “We made numerous points including that the cost of the FACs to the State is ZERO — and to our County essentially the same — ZIP). (There is a little support time and miscellaneous expense; probable the total allocated cost to the County is less than $1,000).”

Sutton reported that the best points he heard on the issues were:

1) the VALUE to the State from participation by a widespread group of knowledgeable, dedicated, citizens;
2) the QUALITY of their input rather than the quantity that the Governor is emphasizing by e-mail response, in volume, to need for input.
3) the cross communication and cross pollination of ideas within the FAC groups to address these increasingly complex issues.

“The FACs will not go away. In the event that the Governor prevails, the counties and cities will re-organize them under local jurisdiction as has already been done by San Juan County,” Sutton said.

“I will push for other local jurisdictions to do likewise and, then, create a new FAC Council that will continue the communication and cross-pollination of ideas that is so critical to evolving WSF into an integral element of a 21st century transportation network throughout Puget Sound.”