Constantine: Limit county spending, ask voters for anything new

Metropolitan King County Council members praised County Executive Dow Constantine for outlining a clear reform agenda Monday, but some warned he will have a hard time meeting his goal of reducing spending increases to the rate of inflation.

In his first major address to the council since he took office in November, Constantine said he wants to reduce spending growth to inflation before considering any tax increase to balance the budget.

"I will insist that we first deliver progress toward real reforms and real savings," Constantine said. " ... We must first get our own house in order."

A council member for nearly eight years before becoming executive, Constantine outlined a "blueprint for reform" that also included pledges to improve customer service, change the way labor contracts are negotiated, and take a fresh look at building and land-use fees.

But with the county facing a $60 million shortfall in the general fund next year, Constantine's biggest policy challenge is to bring revenues and expenditures into balance.

Tax revenues have been "close to a flat line" and have actually declined the past two years, he said.

Constantine proposed a "compact" with citizens: He and other elected officials will develop a plan to keep spending to the level of inflation, then ask voters if they want to reduce spending further or approve taxes to maintain or increase services.

"The choice is that clear," he said.

Constantine said he would convene a "general fund cabinet" of his own appointees and other elected county officials to decide how spending can best be reduced.

Three-quarters of the general fund pays for sheriff's deputies, courts, prosecutors, jails and public defenders.

The executive also proposed to cap spending when revenues increase at the end of the recession and save that money for future downturns.

Several County Council members said it will be difficult to reduce spending increases to the inflation rate because labor contracts include cost-of-living adjustments and health-care obligations whose costs are largely outside the county's control.

Containing costs is "easier said than done," said council Chairman Bob Ferguson. "He's laid out a clear goal that we can measure against. The fact that he was so specific was a very good sign."

"That's going to be a very tall order," Councilmember Larry Phillips said of the goal of cutting spending increases to inflation. "Keep your sleeves rolled up. We've got a lot of work to do."

Julia Patterson, the council's budget chairwoman, said labor costs "are a real issue that we definitely have to deal with to get our budget under control."

Many of Constantine's proposed changes are in a draft plan he presented Monday. He told the council he would:

• Strive to respond to all citizen inquiries within 24 hours and develop a plan to address concerns within 72 hours.

• Involve the County Council in setting goals for labor negotiations, and ask the council for authority to appoint a Cabinet-level director of labor relations.

• Sign an executive order and propose legislation Thursday to eliminate "pages and pages of outdated forms, affidavits, and boilerplate" that discourage many businesses from competing for county contracts.

• Propose changes in permit fees by April 15, possibly switching from hourly staff fees to flat fees.

• Sign an executive order next Tuesday to streamline inquests into shootings by law-enforcement officers and deaths of people in custody.

Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer praised Constantine for a speech that was "long on substance," in contrast to some executive speeches "high on rhetoric and not on substance."

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