News
Without Tax Increase, County's Criminal Justice System Faces 12 Percent Cut
A parade of criminal justice officials, including King County Sheriff Sue Rahr and representatives from the county's district and superior courts appeared before the King County Council today to talk about the impact proposed budget cuts of 12 percent would have on their agencies. The council is considering putting a sales-tax increase on the ballot to pay for criminal-justice services this year.
The county, budget director Dwight Dively noted in a presentation, is facing a shortfall of between $50 and $60 million next year. The shortfall is largely due to the fact that property tax revenues, thanks to an Tim Eyman-back ballot initiative eight years ago, can't grow faster than one percent a year (less than the rate of inflation). Sales tax revenues are also falling short—less than $74 million in 2010, compared to more than $83 million in 2007.
Calling the sheriff's current budget situation "grim," Sheriff Rahr said that to achieve the 12 percent cut the county council is requesting, she would have to cut 60 sheriff's deputies and 10 supervisors; eliminate all property crime and drug investigations; stop providing officers to schools and neighborhoods in unincorporated King County; increase the wait time for 911 calls; and reduce investigations into bomb threats, fire, homicide, domestic violence, sexual assault, and elder abuse, among other cuts.
"Up to this point, I have done my best to not cut services that will immediately jeopardize safety. Rather, they're the kind of service cuts that will deteriorate safety over time," Rahr said. However, "to achieve a 12 percent reduction in costs, we will have to cut services that will immediately impact safety. ... I cannot further cut and tell our citizens that we will conduct investigations and catch the people who break into their homes, steal their cars and, sell drugs to their kids."
King County Prosecutor Dan Satterburg—in a presentation council chair Julia Patterson called "one of the most stunning I've heard in my time on the King County Council"—said that if the county cut his office 12 percent, that would represent a total loss, over the last three years, of 56 deputy prosecutors. That number represents a third of the prosecutor's deputies. "I don’t have to be histrionic to describe how terrible that would be," Satterburg said. "How do you handle the same number of cases with a third less deputy prosecutors? You don't. You're left with a system that's paralyzed. Satterburg has already prosecuting minor drug and theft cases. ... Justice in King County will be unrecognizable if we preserve this cut."
District court, meanwhile, would have to eliminate all probation supervision, the county vehicle relicensing program (which helps people with suspended licenses get their driving privileges back), and passport services. Presiding judge Barbara Linde read out the rap sheet of a man on probation, who was convicted of assault, DUI, stalking, violating a no-contact order, and weapons charges. And superior court would have to eliminate supervision of juvenile criminals, eliminate family court (which deals with domestic-violence and child-abuse cases) and family facilitators, eliminate attorneys and volunteer superviors for CASA, the court-appointed special advocates program, and eliminate customer service and phone service.
The county, budget director Dwight Dively noted in a presentation, is facing a shortfall of between $50 and $60 million next year. The shortfall is largely due to the fact that property tax revenues, thanks to an Tim Eyman-back ballot initiative eight years ago, can't grow faster than one percent a year (less than the rate of inflation). Sales tax revenues are also falling short—less than $74 million in 2010, compared to more than $83 million in 2007.
Calling the sheriff's current budget situation "grim," Sheriff Rahr said that to achieve the 12 percent cut the county council is requesting, she would have to cut 60 sheriff's deputies and 10 supervisors; eliminate all property crime and drug investigations; stop providing officers to schools and neighborhoods in unincorporated King County; increase the wait time for 911 calls; and reduce investigations into bomb threats, fire, homicide, domestic violence, sexual assault, and elder abuse, among other cuts.
"Up to this point, I have done my best to not cut services that will immediately jeopardize safety. Rather, they're the kind of service cuts that will deteriorate safety over time," Rahr said. However, "to achieve a 12 percent reduction in costs, we will have to cut services that will immediately impact safety. ... I cannot further cut and tell our citizens that we will conduct investigations and catch the people who break into their homes, steal their cars and, sell drugs to their kids."
King County Prosecutor Dan Satterburg—in a presentation council chair Julia Patterson called "one of the most stunning I've heard in my time on the King County Council"—said that if the county cut his office 12 percent, that would represent a total loss, over the last three years, of 56 deputy prosecutors. That number represents a third of the prosecutor's deputies. "I don’t have to be histrionic to describe how terrible that would be," Satterburg said. "How do you handle the same number of cases with a third less deputy prosecutors? You don't. You're left with a system that's paralyzed. Satterburg has already prosecuting minor drug and theft cases. ... Justice in King County will be unrecognizable if we preserve this cut."
District court, meanwhile, would have to eliminate all probation supervision, the county vehicle relicensing program (which helps people with suspended licenses get their driving privileges back), and passport services. Presiding judge Barbara Linde read out the rap sheet of a man on probation, who was convicted of assault, DUI, stalking, violating a no-contact order, and weapons charges. And superior court would have to eliminate supervision of juvenile criminals, eliminate family court (which deals with domestic-violence and child-abuse cases) and family facilitators, eliminate attorneys and volunteer superviors for CASA, the court-appointed special advocates program, and eliminate customer service and phone service.
