The King County Council prioritized public health, safety and human services in its 2009 adopted budget. The budget restores funding for Sheriff’s deputies, precinct offices, anti-gang units, drug court, and mental health court, while keeping the Northshore Public Health Center in Bothell open and providing north-end human service agencies with critical funding. including:
- The Center for Human Services and its Safe Communities Program;
- The Northshore Senior Center, and;
- The Northshore Public Health Center.
Specifically, the 2009 budget secures $65,305 for the Center for Human Services, which provides counseling, support and substance abuse treatment services for youth and families in north King County.
The Northshore Family Center in Bothell is run by the Center for Human Services.
The budget also fully funds the Center for Human Service’s Safe Communities Program, which keep kids out of the criminal justice system.
Bothell’s Northshore Senior Center will receive $55,306 in funding for senior services and $36,933 for its adult daycare program to provide services for the over 7,000 seniors who use the center’s services annually.
The Northshore Public Health Center in Bothell was targeted for closure in the Executive’s proposed budget. The Council’s adopted budget restores full-year funding for the public health center.
King County faced a projected $93 million budget shortfall in its general fund for 2009.
The $662 million general fund pays for core government functions and critical services such as public health, elections, criminal justice, and human services. To fund public health and safety services, the Council’s adopted budget reprioritizes items in the Executive’s proposed budget and eliminates non-essential expenditures. For example, the Council cut:
- $553,000 from unfilled public health administrative positions;
- $104,000 from a project to archive old Kingdome videos;
- $140,000 from heating and lighting costs in county buildings, and;
- $345,000 from a voicemail replacement project.
The budget also preserves funds to assist Bothell should it decide to annex portions of urban unincorporated King County in the near future.
The Executive’s proposed budget eliminated $7.5 million in reserve funds set aside to assist cities with the annexation process.
The monies were reprogrammed to support unincorporated area parks. The Council’s adopted budget funds these parks in 2009, but ensures that reserve funds totaling $4.5 million remain available for cities, like Bothell, which are actively considering annexation.
The Council adopted the budget on Monday, Nov. 24. The Executive must take action 10 days after the adopted budget is transmitted to him. This year, the 10-day period will likely end on Friday, Dec. 5.
He can sign the budget into effect or exercise line item veto authority. The Council can override a veto with a supermajority of six votes.