King County budget cuts will hit health services hard
Facing a $93.4 million deficit in King County’s 2009 General Fund, King County Executive Ron Sims has presented a budget that will lead to substantial cuts in the County’s health services.
In order to protect some health and other services, Sims proposes to use $10.5 million in reserve funds to provide a six-month “lifeline” that will keep their doors open until at least the end of June.
In the meantime, Sims hopes to get help from the state legislature to get new revenue to preserve the services including help to speed annexations of unincorporated areas.
“The lifeline strategy buys us time to continue working with legislators to create a solution in Olympia this spring. If we are successful, King County will preserve these critical services. If the state does not grant us a structural solution, the programs in the lifeboat will expire on June 30th of 2009,” Sims said in a speech outlining the proposed budget.
The slowdown in the economy has lead to a $22.5 million fall in projected sales tax revenues, a $14 million decline in interest earnings, and a $12.1 million decline in other revenues. At the same time there will be a $8.7 increase spending next year to cover cost-of-living raises for employees.
In addition, the cost of providing services to unincorporated ares that are slated for annexation is $20 million more than the tax revenues that can be generated from those unannexed areas.
Among the health programs that will have to either reduce their services or shutdown altogether when the lifeline funding ends are:
- Northshore Public Health Clinic
- White Center Family Planning Clinic
- Child care health program
- Mental Health Court
- Disease control program for E. coli, West Nile virus, rabies and other diseases spread by animals to humans.
- Immunization program
- Tuberculosis control and prevention
- Sexually transmitted disease control and prevention
- Pandemic flu control and prevention
- Substance abuse treatment programs.
To learn more:
- Visit the King County Budget Brief page, which includes the budget, a summary of the budget, a news release about the cuts and a speech (transcript and video) by Ron Sims about the cuts.
- Links to most of the services listed above can be found on Public Health – Seattle & King County’s website.
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Category: Health-care Policy, Public Health
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