HomeMy WebLinkAbout031 14STATE OF WASHINGTON
COUNTY OF JEFFERSON
In the Matter of Supporting the Washington }
State Association of Counties (WSAC) } Resolution No. 31 -14
Fiscal Sustainability Initiative }
WHEREAS, County governments across the State of Washington are facing a financial
and service delivery crisis; and
WHEREAS, the cost of providing essential public services is outpacing the growth of
revenue, leaving counties with few options other than cutting services to the public; and
WHEREAS, under the Constitution and laws for the State of Washington, many state
programs are administered and carried out by counties for residents of both incorporated and
unincorporated areas including: administering and operating civil and criminal justice systems;
running elections; assessing and collecting property taxes to support schools, cities, fire districts
and other functions in addition to county operations; developing plans including Growth
Management and Shoreline Management plans; delivering public health services, environmental
health services, and funding or coordinating programs for youth, senior citizens, the mentally ill
and the developmentally disabled; and addressing the need for low- income housing; and
WHEREAS, counties also provide a primary government service for residents of
unincorporated areas including law enforcement, animal control, transportation, land use and
development permitting, and parks and recreation; and
WHEREAS, the public services that counties provide are essential to the functions of
state government and to the wellbeing of the citizens, businesses and communities we serve; and
WHEREAS, unlike states and cities, counties are financed primarily by just two sources
of revenue: property taxes, and sales and use taxes; yet property tax growth is capped at 1 % plus
the value of new construction (which remains at historic lows), and sales tax collections are
constrained by the rural character of unincorporated counties under the Growth Management Act;
and the value of both of these revenues continues to lose ground against the real cost of inflation;
and
WHEREAS, in addition to revenue limitations, counties are challenged with a host of
regulatory requirements that are increasingly complex and expensive, expanding liability costs,
and increasing employment costs, regardless of a county's ability to pay; and
WHEREAS, the Washington State Association of Counties (WSAC) has launched its
Fiscal Sustainability Initiative in an effort to educate lawmakers about the services counties
provide, advance new revenue generation and cost containment options to improve the fiscal
health of county governments, and to advance legislation in support of those options;
Resolution in Support of WSAC's Fiscal Sustainability Initiative Page I of 2
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Jefferson County Commissioners
hereby express support for the Washington State Association of Counties' Fiscal Sustainability
Initiative and a willingness work with WSAC and other county officials across the state to
advance the adequate and sustainable funding for vital county government services.
h
APPROVED this )i lf -Ziay of July, 2014.
� #'.� Eiji' 4`iM, \' •1 `.,
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ATTEST: -
Carolyn Ave , Deputy Clerk c�the Board
JEFFERSON COUNTY
BOARD OF/00MMISS
J
David Sullivan, em er
Resolution in Support of WSAC's Fiscal Sustainability Initiative Page 2of 2
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Washington State
Association of Counties
July 02, 2014 J�1 % 204
The Honorable John Austin, Chair, Jefferson County Board of Commiss6 6rs
PO Box 1220
Port Townsend, WA 98368 -6951
Dear Commissioner Austin:
Though the beginning of the 2015 Legislative Session is still over six months away, preparations are underway to
make this as successful a session as possible. WSAC is preparing a legislative agenda focused on advancing the
county Fiscal Sustainability Initiative. We know that many counties are also in the process of preparing their
legislative agendas.
Our influence with the Legislature is greatly enhanced when counties speak with a unified voice. Toward that end,
we are asking all counties to include the county Fiscal Sustainability Initiative on their individual county legislative
agenda. The manner in which you do so, and the specific language you use is not as important as simply ensuring
that your county's support for the WSAC legislative agenda is mentioned in your county agenda. If your county has
not prepared a legislative agenda in the past, we would encourage you to do so even if the sole purpose is to
indicate support for the Fiscal Sustainability Initiative.
We are also asking individual counties to adopt a resolution endorsing the county Fiscal Sustainability Initiative. In
2013 eight counties adopted resolutions (Benton, Island, Kittitas, Snohomish, Spokane, Wahkiakum, Walla Walla,
and Whatcom), and we are hoping the remaining counties will do the same this year. Enclosed with this letter is an
example of one county's resolution.
If you have any questions about the resolution or legislative agenda document, WSAC staff stand ready to assist you
and can be contacted through Josh Weiss at (360) 489 -3015 or'weiss wacounties.org. As your WSAC Legislative
Steering Committee Co- Chairs we are also happy to answer any questions you might have.
Sincerely,
Kathy Lambert
Legislative Steering Committee Co -Chair
King County Councilmember
Kevin Bouchey
Legislative Steering Committee Co -Chair
Yakima County Commissioner
Washington Counties Building 1 206 Tenth Ave SE I Olympia, Washington 98501 -1211 1 Phone: 360.753.1886 1 Fax: 360.753.2842
www.wacounties.orL/wsac
SNOHOMISH COUNTY COUNCIL
SNOHOMISH COUNTY EXECUTIVE
Snohomish County, Washington
JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 13 -018-
A JOINT RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE WASHINGTON STATE ASSOCIATION
OF COUNTIES (WSAC) FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE
WHEREAS, county governments across the State of Washington are facing a financial and
service delivery crisis; and -
WHEREAS, the cost of providing essential public services is outpacing the growth of revenue,
leaving counties with few options other than cutting services to the public; and
WHEREAS, under the Constitution and laws for the State of Washington, many state
programs are administered and carried out by counties for residents of both incorporated and
unincorporated areas including: administering and operating civil and criminal justice systems; running
elections; assessing and collecting property taxes to support schools, cities, fire districts and other
functions in addition to county operations; developing plans including Growth Management and
Shoreline Management plans; delivering public health services as well as programs for the mentally
ill, developmentally disabled; and addressing the need for low- income housing; and
WHEREAS, counties also provide a primary government services for residents of
unincorporated areas including law enforcement, transportation (both roads and transit), land use and
zoning, parks, animal control, stormwater control; and -
WHEREAS, unlike states and cities, counties are financed primarily by two sources of
revenue: property taxes and sales and use taxes. However, property tax growth is capped at 1% plus
the value of new construction, and sales tax collections have become . increasingly challenging with
the Growth Management Act allowing cities to annex large .tax- paying businesses into their
jurisdictions; and
WHEREAS, in addition to revenue limitations, counties are challenged with a host of
regulatory requirements that are increasingly complex and expensive, expanding liability costs, and
increasing employment costs, regardless of a county's ability to. pay; and
WHEREAS, WSAC launched its Fiscal Sustainability Initiative in an effort to educate
lawmakers about the services counties provide, advance new revenue generation and cost
containment options to improve the fiscal health of county governments, and to advance legislation in
support of those options.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Snohomish County Executive and the
Snohomish County Council hereby express support for the Washington State Association of Counties -
Fiscal Sustainability Initiative, and a willingness work with WSAC and other county officials across the
state to advance the initiative. -
APPROVED this 2nd day of October, 2013.
$rep aril Wrightt ,
iI Chair
Dave Somers,
u ice -Chair
a
ulllvao,
Councilmember
ATTEST:
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Kathryd J..6ratcher, Clerk of the Council
hn Lovick,
County Executive
Dave Gossett,
i
Consent Agenda
Commissioners Office
JEFFERSON COUNTY
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA REQUEST
TO: Board of County Commissioners
Philip Morley, County Administrator
FROM: Leslie Locke, Deputy Clerk of the Board
DATE: July 14, 2014
SUBJECT: RESOLUTION re: Supporting the Washington State Association of Counties
(WSAC) Fiscal Sustainability Initiative
STATEMENT OF ISSUE:
A letter was received from the Washington State Association of Counties requesting Counties
approve a resolution endorsing the County Fiscal Sustainability Initiative.
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve the resolution.
REVIEWED BY:
hilip icy. County. dmirtrator
76/y
Date