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A Tale of Two Budgets

News   April 2, 2009 at 10:51 am Josh Feit

With the devastating budget news out of Olympia these days—a $9 billion shortfall—the call to find new revenue (raise  taxes) is understandable. With the exception of the gas tax, which doesn’t aid the general fund because it’s locked to the transportation budget, the state hasn’t raised taxes in years.

And, as economic think tanks like the Washington State Budget & Policy Center have been arguing for years (and it’s finally getting some traction from powerful people in Olympia like Senate Majority Leader Sen. Lisa Brown), this is a revenue problem not a spending problem.

Indeed, as WSB&PC has pointed out—state spending as a percentage of personal income has remained flat, hovering around 6 percent, for over 10 years. In short:  Despite what Republicans have argued, government has not grown. 

But what of King County? Do they have a revenue problem? I count nine tax increases since 2006: sales tax for transit; sales tax for mental health; property tax for parks; property tax for open space; property tax for veteran services; property tax for Medic 1; property tax for crime lab work; property tax for flood control; and property tax for ferries.

The County’s strategy (as opposed to the tax-averse state legislature)  was to pass those earmarked taxes so they wouldn’t have to swipe money from the general fund to pay for basic services. But now King County wants to raise a utility tax—a 6 percent tax on everything from sewers to cell phones—arguing that if they don’t, basic services will get walloped.   

But without the structural deficit problem that the state legislature has, why is King County in the red right now? They’re talking about a $50 to $6o million hole.

Their budget has expanded about 43 percent—$3.5 billion to $5 billion since the 2006.  That rate of increase is nearly 50 percent bigger than the increase at the state level over the same period. 

I don’t get it.


  • Joe

    I hope someone answers your question.

  • Joe

    I hope someone answers your question.

  • Joe

    I hope someone answers your question.

  • Chris Stefan

    I-747 did a huge amount of damage to the County’s General fund as has the decline in sales tax revenue.

    Sure the county has been able to pass tax increases but as you point out in your story those taxes are earmarked for specific purposes. This is why, for example, there was an effort to allow the county to use the ferry district money for Metro (which has been hurt badly by the decline in sales tax revenue).

  • Chris Stefan

    I-747 did a huge amount of damage to the County’s General fund as has the decline in sales tax revenue.

    Sure the county has been able to pass tax increases but as you point out in your story those taxes are earmarked for specific purposes. This is why, for example, there was an effort to allow the county to use the ferry district money for Metro (which has been hurt badly by the decline in sales tax revenue).

  • Chris Stefan

    I-747 did a huge amount of damage to the County’s General fund as has the decline in sales tax revenue.

    Sure the county has been able to pass tax increases but as you point out in your story those taxes are earmarked for specific purposes. This is why, for example, there was an effort to allow the county to use the ferry district money for Metro (which has been hurt badly by the decline in sales tax revenue).

  • Hobgoblin

    @2 – An increased budget of 3.5B to 5B in four years doesn’t seem like they have much of a revenue problem.

  • Hobgoblin

    @2 – An increased budget of 3.5B to 5B in four years doesn’t seem like they have much of a revenue problem.

  • Hobgoblin

    @2 – An increased budget of 3.5B to 5B in four years doesn’t seem like they have much of a revenue problem.

  • Chris Stefan

    I don’t know, it is hard to say without looking at specific line items over the past 4 years.

    It could be that much of that spending/revenue increase was in areas like parks or medic 1 where the revenue is earmarked for a specific purpose. Those earmarked tax increases generally come with increased spending. For instance the transit measure was for increasing bus service and building some BRT lines. The sales tax revenue has fallen off a cliff which is why Metro is facing 20% service cuts.

  • Chris Stefan

    I don’t know, it is hard to say without looking at specific line items over the past 4 years.

    It could be that much of that spending/revenue increase was in areas like parks or medic 1 where the revenue is earmarked for a specific purpose. Those earmarked tax increases generally come with increased spending. For instance the transit measure was for increasing bus service and building some BRT lines. The sales tax revenue has fallen off a cliff which is why Metro is facing 20% service cuts.

  • Chris Stefan

    I don’t know, it is hard to say without looking at specific line items over the past 4 years.

    It could be that much of that spending/revenue increase was in areas like parks or medic 1 where the revenue is earmarked for a specific purpose. Those earmarked tax increases generally come with increased spending. For instance the transit measure was for increasing bus service and building some BRT lines. The sales tax revenue has fallen off a cliff which is why Metro is facing 20% service cuts.

  • Johnny Rhodes

    Josh,

    You have uncovered what everyone at King County knows but can’t deal with. They are in denial. I would somewhat disagree with the idea that they don’t have a revenue problem.

    Let’s look at the Growth Management Act which was passed 20 years ago. It mandated, correctly I think, that future growth should happen in cities. Unincorporated areas have pretty much disappeared.

    However, nobody at King County including Ron Sims, Democrats and Republicans, has been willing to shrink the size of County Government. They have had 20 years to figure this out.

    Instead both Locke and Sims completely caved to the unions and refused to cut anyone. You have to understand that every single employee at King County gets step increases AND COLA increase EVERY year.

    People can whine all they want about various tax measures and the limits of the property tax. County governments, especially King County, were intended to fundamentally change.

    King County hasn’t. They are operating as if this was 1979. Take a look at Public Health. They have everything from disease surveillance, to EMS to the medical examiner. They even provide direct service with doctors and nurses.

    They would have you believe that if their clinics closed that women and their babies would wander off into Volunteer Park and die. Quite the opposite. The heavily subsidized Public Health clinics compete with non profit clinics that run more efficiently and can reduce and change their staff mix at will. They could easily, efficiently and more successfully serve those women and their babies.

    And its likely that they could do it for a lot less money.

    King County has a bureaucratic monster that starves innovation, with highly paid employees who, ironically, have low morale. Its a broken government with out of control costs managed by people who refuse to reduce the size and scope of County government.

    I am not a Republican by the way. Perhaps a silver lining of this economic downturn will rationalize out the mess at King County.

    Now, what time is it? I need to take my medication.

  • Johnny Rhodes

    Josh,

    You have uncovered what everyone at King County knows but can’t deal with. They are in denial. I would somewhat disagree with the idea that they don’t have a revenue problem.

    Let’s look at the Growth Management Act which was passed 20 years ago. It mandated, correctly I think, that future growth should happen in cities. Unincorporated areas have pretty much disappeared.

    However, nobody at King County including Ron Sims, Democrats and Republicans, has been willing to shrink the size of County Government. They have had 20 years to figure this out.

    Instead both Locke and Sims completely caved to the unions and refused to cut anyone. You have to understand that every single employee at King County gets step increases AND COLA increase EVERY year.

    People can whine all they want about various tax measures and the limits of the property tax. County governments, especially King County, were intended to fundamentally change.

    King County hasn’t. They are operating as if this was 1979. Take a look at Public Health. They have everything from disease surveillance, to EMS to the medical examiner. They even provide direct service with doctors and nurses.

    They would have you believe that if their clinics closed that women and their babies would wander off into Volunteer Park and die. Quite the opposite. The heavily subsidized Public Health clinics compete with non profit clinics that run more efficiently and can reduce and change their staff mix at will. They could easily, efficiently and more successfully serve those women and their babies.

    And its likely that they could do it for a lot less money.

    King County has a bureaucratic monster that starves innovation, with highly paid employees who, ironically, have low morale. Its a broken government with out of control costs managed by people who refuse to reduce the size and scope of County government.

    I am not a Republican by the way. Perhaps a silver lining of this economic downturn will rationalize out the mess at King County.

    Now, what time is it? I need to take my medication.

  • Johnny Rhodes

    Josh,

    You have uncovered what everyone at King County knows but can’t deal with. They are in denial. I would somewhat disagree with the idea that they don’t have a revenue problem.

    Let’s look at the Growth Management Act which was passed 20 years ago. It mandated, correctly I think, that future growth should happen in cities. Unincorporated areas have pretty much disappeared.

    However, nobody at King County including Ron Sims, Democrats and Republicans, has been willing to shrink the size of County Government. They have had 20 years to figure this out.

    Instead both Locke and Sims completely caved to the unions and refused to cut anyone. You have to understand that every single employee at King County gets step increases AND COLA increase EVERY year.

    People can whine all they want about various tax measures and the limits of the property tax. County governments, especially King County, were intended to fundamentally change.

    King County hasn’t. They are operating as if this was 1979. Take a look at Public Health. They have everything from disease surveillance, to EMS to the medical examiner. They even provide direct service with doctors and nurses.

    They would have you believe that if their clinics closed that women and their babies would wander off into Volunteer Park and die. Quite the opposite. The heavily subsidized Public Health clinics compete with non profit clinics that run more efficiently and can reduce and change their staff mix at will. They could easily, efficiently and more successfully serve those women and their babies.

    And its likely that they could do it for a lot less money.

    King County has a bureaucratic monster that starves innovation, with highly paid employees who, ironically, have low morale. Its a broken government with out of control costs managed by people who refuse to reduce the size and scope of County government.

    I am not a Republican by the way. Perhaps a silver lining of this economic downturn will rationalize out the mess at King County.

    Now, what time is it? I need to take my medication.

  • Chris Brown

    The problem is that as the state funds less and less through budget cuts, the counties have to take on more and more, similar to the way the states had to take on more and more during the Bush years. That’s King County’s problem.

  • Chris Brown

    The problem is that as the state funds less and less through budget cuts, the counties have to take on more and more, similar to the way the states had to take on more and more during the Bush years. That’s King County’s problem.

  • Chris Brown

    The problem is that as the state funds less and less through budget cuts, the counties have to take on more and more, similar to the way the states had to take on more and more during the Bush years. That’s King County’s problem.