It's budget-crunch time for King County government

Dow Constantine swooped into office promising to reform King County government. He vowed to find significant savings and insisted the county get its financial house in order.

As county executive, Constantine promptly cut executive staff salaries and slashed the number of people in his office. Most County Council members took a self-imposed salary cut and reduced their office budgets.

All good symbolic stuff. Now comes the hard part. In the face of a $60 million 2011 budget shortfall, the county has to break into existing labor contracts and forge a new course on upcoming contracts to reduce the cost of government.

For many Americans, the past decade has been a lost one. Average families saw wages stagnate; they didn't earn a dime more. Some now earn less.

It's a different story in government, especially the county, where raises of 2 percent to 6 percent are current policy, even when local cost-of-living numbers actually dipped last year. Sheriff's deputies are getting 5 percent raises for five years.

It's show time for Constantine and the County Council. Some cuts have been made and now the only way to make significant progress is to change the anachronistic policy that says county employees get a raise no matter what. The county also must insist that employees pay toward their health premiums like their counterparts in the private sector. Is Constantine willing to fight for these changes or not?

Constantine joined Democrats on the council pushing a two-tenths of a cent per dollar sales-tax increase to pay for sheriff's deputies and the court system. Without the increase, deep cuts are coming to important public-safety programs that keep our communities safe.

The council lacked the votes for an August ballot and may try again for the November ballot.

Republican Councilmembers Kathy Lambert and Reagan Dunn this week offered a similar sales-tax increase except certain property tax levies would be reduced simultaneously to neutralize the overall impact of the tax increase.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. The wise course this summer is to dive into labor contracts to change both the culture and spending habits of the county to earn the right to ask for more money.

The biggest contract before the county this summer is the bus drivers' pact. The pressure is on Constantine to push to make bus routes more productive — more service for less cost. As other major contracts follow, there is one rule: Costs have to come down.

While we are at it, Sheriff Sue Rahr should go through her closet and see what can be cut. I don't mean deputies. Those we need. But how about adjusting work rules to allow some officers to work part time — say, Friday and Saturday nights when they are needed most? How about more flexible work rules so officers can take leave without pay, with some method of health benefits, to be with young children, go to school or start a business and come back? Such a provision prevents layoffs.

County government has been shrinking in recent years. I was first to suggest, albeit tongue in cheek, in 1999 that the council reduce its size from 13 members to nine. I suggested it again more seriously in 2002 when the county was closing parks. Then initiative mad-dog Tim Eyman and jail guards picked up the idea. The measure passed. Can you imagine how outlandish today's council would seem with 13 members?

Few people recommend the council go further and shift down to seven members, but the council must take another whack at council staff. Reduce, revise.

Constantine can make or break his reputation this year. Either he is serious about reforming county government or not.

If he doesn't enthusiastically embrace tangible cost reductions, voters should be reluctant to support either the Democratic or Republican approach to new revenue.

Joni Balter's column appears regularly on editorial pages of The Times. Her e-mail address is jbalter@seattletimes.com