City Hall
Extra Fizz: City May Have to Come Up With Two Budgets
Thanks to ongoing negotiations at the King County Council about whether to put a 0.2 percent sales-tax increase on the November ballot (the increase would be split 60-40 between cities and unincorporated King County, netting Seattle around $12 million a year), the city may have to come up with two different budgets this year---one with the $12 million included, one without the money. One-third of the city's share would have to be dedicated to public safety. The city faces a budget shortfall of at least $50 million next year.
The city's deputy finance director, Hall Walker, says that if the measures go onto the ballot, he will probably recommend that the city adopt one base budget and a list of changes the city would make to the budget if the sales-tax measure passed. "I would hope we don't have to develop two budgets. That would probably be a lot of work for our staff," Walker says.
The county council has vacillated about whether to send a tax measure, which would mostly pay for criminal justice, to county voters. Most recently, King County Council member Larry Philips, a Democrat, has said he may oppose the sales tax measure if it's paired with another proposal to raise the sales tax 0.1 percent to pay for a new county juvenile justice facility.
In practical terms, if the measure does make it onto the November ballot, the council would still have time to decide which budget to adopt: Election Day is November 2, giving the council three weeks before the Thanksgiving recess, which is when the council traditionally adopts the city budget.
Politically, though, the fate of the ballot measure could present some challenges for the council. If the council assumes the measure will pass and it fails, council member could end up having to announce even bigger cuts than anticipated. Potentially even worse, if the council assumes the measure will fail and it passes, it may be seen as picking and choosing pet programs at the last minute.
The county council's budget committee will discuss the proposals in its 2:00 pm meeting at the King County Courthouse tomorrow.
The city's deputy finance director, Hall Walker, says that if the measures go onto the ballot, he will probably recommend that the city adopt one base budget and a list of changes the city would make to the budget if the sales-tax measure passed. "I would hope we don't have to develop two budgets. That would probably be a lot of work for our staff," Walker says.
The county council has vacillated about whether to send a tax measure, which would mostly pay for criminal justice, to county voters. Most recently, King County Council member Larry Philips, a Democrat, has said he may oppose the sales tax measure if it's paired with another proposal to raise the sales tax 0.1 percent to pay for a new county juvenile justice facility.
In practical terms, if the measure does make it onto the November ballot, the council would still have time to decide which budget to adopt: Election Day is November 2, giving the council three weeks before the Thanksgiving recess, which is when the council traditionally adopts the city budget.
Politically, though, the fate of the ballot measure could present some challenges for the council. If the council assumes the measure will pass and it fails, council member could end up having to announce even bigger cuts than anticipated. Potentially even worse, if the council assumes the measure will fail and it passes, it may be seen as picking and choosing pet programs at the last minute.
The county council's budget committee will discuss the proposals in its 2:00 pm meeting at the King County Courthouse tomorrow.
