Budget revamp needed because of I-776

By Keith Ervin
Seattle Times staff reporter

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A state Supreme Court ruling that upheld tax-limiting Initiative 776 will have such a large impact on King County's road-building fund that the 2004 capital budget will have to be rewritten early next year.

A staff report to the Metropolitan King County Council yesterday said the ruling has made County Executive Ron Sims' proposed roads budget "inoperable." The Supreme Court last month upheld the constitutionality of voter-approved I-776, which rolls back car tabs to $30 a year.

The measure shuts off a yearly $4.8 million revenue stream for King County.

Sims has placed on hold his earlier proposal to set $11.3 million in road money aside as an incentive for cities that agree to annex unincorporated urban areas. The county also may postpone or scrap the sale of $80 million in bonds that would have sped up long-awaited road improvements.

Budget director Steve Call said yesterday the impact will be more severe than the initial revenue loss suggests because the county road fund is used to finance bonds and obtain matching funds from the federal and state governments. On bridge projects, the federal government pays up to 80 percent of the cost, Call said.

Among the projects at risk are expansion of Coal Creek Parkway and Novelty Hill Road on the Eastside, and an improved intersection of Benson Road and Carr Road near Renton.

"We all need to sit back and go back to the drawing table and figure out where our construction projects are," Call said. "This has put a huge hole in the region's ability to address transportation needs."

While officials haven't precisely calculated the impact of several voter-approved tax cuts, County Council budget analyst Rebecha Cusack said the road-construction fund might be reduced by 20 percent over the next six years.

The County Council's budget chairman, Larry Phillips, D-Seattle, said the county's ability to improve roads fund will be "devastated" by I-776 and by Initiative 747, which caps the growth in property taxes to 1 percent a year.

County Councilwoman Kathy Lambert, R-Woodinville, said many citizens view reductions in local governments' taxing authority as merely forcing them to stop spending on "extras." But, she said, "When we're talking about these kinds of cuts, we're talking way beyond extras."

In a daylong meeting on the 2004 county budget, several County Council members yesterday expressed concerns about cuts in public-health programs proposed by Sims.

Those cuts would close teen health centers in Burien and Renton, eliminate two-thirds of the inspections of small water systems, trim HIV/AIDS-prevention programs in Seattle and cut back on inspection and permitting of rural septic systems.

The council is studying whether to shift budget cuts to some other areas, such as the Youthbuild jobs program or a fund for affordable housing.

The council's budget committee yesterday opted to make no recommendation to the full council on proposed increases in some animal license fees. Among the possible increases: license for an altered pet or cat to $20 from $17, for an unaltered pet to $60 from $55, and senior citizen lifetime cat license to $20 from $12.

The budget committee endorsed increases averaging 30 percent for the service of legal papers by sheriff's deputies. It would be the first such increase in 10 years. The panel also gave its blessing to new or increased fees in adoption services and family mediation.

The County Council is scheduled to adopt a 2004 budget Nov. 24.

Keith Ervin: 206-464-2105 or kervin@seattletimes.com

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