Guest columnist
Solid-waste budget plan keeps safety net intact

By Larry Phillips
Special to The Times

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King County government and residents alike are still feeling the sting of the recession. The county has been grappling with rising budget deficits, and we have made some very difficult decisions in order to maintain a legally required balanced budget. We will have to do so again in the 2004 budget.

But we can't turn away our residents who need the most basic human services. Charitable contributions are down just when more people need help. King County has to keep intact the safety net.

Last year, the county faced a $52 million budget shortfall due in part to a flagging economy, rising costs and unfunded mandates. Health and human services nearly suffered a 50-percent cut in funding as part of the effort to balance expenditures and revenues.

The reduction in funding would have drastically curtailed the county's ability to deliver even the most basic human services such as shelter, domestic-violence treatment and basic health care. We knew that just wasn't acceptable, so instead the council reduced funding by a relatively modest 15 percent. And, along with King County Executive Ron Sims, we committed to finding a long-term solution to fund human services.

I understand the value and importance of a community safety net that provides care for the region's most needy residents. Taking care of those who need our help most must be a top priority for the county. Fortunately, this year's budget provides an opportunity to do just that.

Sims' 2004 budget includes a proposal to dedicate at least $7 million annually for 25 years to fund health, housing and human services. The proposal calls for the county's Solid Waste Division to pay for its use of the Cedar Hills Landfill, which is owned by the county.

This is a sound fiscal plan that allows the county to continue to provide the most basic human services at current levels while taking advantage of cost-saving efficiencies at Solid Waste. Money to pay for use of the landfill will come from operational efficiencies at Solid Waste, not from ratepayer increases, and health and human services funding will remain stable at 2003 levels.

Employees at Solid Waste have worked hard to identify avenues to cut costs and generate revenue. Among these are workforce reductions, fine-tuning of transfer station operating hours to reflect peak visitor times, and revenue generation from the sale of landfill gas to a company that will convert it to energy.

This is the right funding mechanism at the right time. The demand for basic health and human services is at its highest point in a decade. Human services are funded solely out of the county's general fund, which faces increasing demands with dwindling revenue.

This plan is a good first step toward a long-term funding solution for health and human services. But these services will continue to be at risk until a source of permanent funding is found. For that reason, it's vital that the Regional Policy Committee, health and human services providers, suburban cities and King County continue to work in collaboration toward a viable long-term solution.

The council's task today is to pass a responsible and balanced budget that sustains services the public wants and needs. I believe the Solid Waste business plan makes good fiscal sense for suburban cities, the Solid Waste Division and county residents.

We have an opportunity this year to both balance the budget and take care of the region's residents. We shouldn't let it pass us by.

Larry Phillips, D-Seattle, represents District 4 on the Metropolitan King County Council and chairs the council's Budget and Fiscal Management Committee.

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