Guest Column: Council Member Pratt Writes Olympia

(Following is a letter written by San Juan County Council Member Lovel Pratt to San Juan County/40th District Representatives in the State Legislature. She asks that addresses to 40th District Representatives be included. They follow this letter, and are also included in the sidebar on the front page of the Orcas Issues website, click on “Contact Your Legislators.”)

I have serious concerns about the House budget’s impacts to San Juan County. The Olympia newspaper headlines ironically read ‘House Budget Avoids Tax Increase.’ If the House budget is adopted, the Legislature will have avoided a tax increase but will have passed on that responsibility to local jurisdictions. Many of the cuts proposed in the House budget represent critical county services that must be addressed with additional revenues and/or corresponding cuts to other programs and services.

It is my understanding that in addition to cutting all funding for local law enforcement training, the House budget cuts would include $688,829 in lost revenue to SJC, and if the sales tax authority proposed by the Chair of the Ways and Means Committee is approved, the new taxing authority would only generate $612,000 or 89% of the lost revenue. These cuts represent criminal justice assistance, judge’s salaries, health and human services programs and rural county economic development.

I want to be sure that you understand the current budget crisis in SJC.  Since 2008 we have cut 12% of the FTEs in the general fund. These cuts had to be made even though the voters approved a levy lid lift in 2009 (that will sunset in 2015). The levy lid lift funds represent almost 7% of our general fund. Even with the cuts that we have made and the additional revenues our voters have approved, in order to balance the budget over the next six years we are looking at the need to secure additional revenues or make significant service reductions by cutting yet another 12 FTE in 2013 or 20 FTE over the 2013 – 2017 time frame.  We are just beginning to look at the possibility of asking the voters to approve a Law & Justice Sales Tax. Would voters approve a sales tax to maintain SJC’s current level of service on top of an increased sales tax to make up for the state budget cuts proposed by the House? The cuts that the House budget would pass down to local jurisdictions would make our current budget crisis a budget catastrophe.

The House budget disproportionally impacts rural counties. One of the biggest cuts to SJC is the Rural County Economic Development or .09 funds.  SJC anticipated receiving $392,133 in .09 funds in 2012. These are the only funds we can use specifically to create and grow much needed revenues. We have also used .09 funds for essential road, sewer and stormwater projects and a study on improved county-wide access to high speed broadband. If you won’t go to the voters of the state to ask for additional revenues I urge you to consider cutting other funds such as the streamlined sales tax mitigation money – half of which would cover the entire .09 fund cuts. I also ask that you do more to eliminate or at least reduce the costs to counties associated with unfunded state mandates.

I do appreciate the challenges you face and hope that you will work to find more equitable and state-wide solutions to the budget crisis we all face.
Thank you,

• Senator Kevin Ranker

215 JAC Cherberg Building
PO Box 40440
Olympia, WA 98504-0440
(360) 786-7678 email: ranker.kevin@leg.wa.gov

• Rep. Jeff Morris

436A Legislative Building
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7970. email: morris.jeff@leg.wa.gov

• Rep. Kris Lytton

#203 Modular B
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504
(360) 786-7800 email: kristine.lytton@leg.wa.gov