The Mayor's Budget: Trying to "Find Savings by Focusing on Outcomes"
All day today, Mayor Mike McGinn has been speaking to the people, preparing them for his giant, deficit-defying (kind of) budget. And for the most part, it's not looking that bad.
The Mayor, who decried the "low road" option of an all cuts, no services budget (like the State's), continued to hammer on the ideas that are most important to so many voters--"creating jobs and supporting our kids." How is he keeping the services? With savings, he stated.
Many of the savings, the Mayor explained, come from within the City, rather than from cuts to human services. Examples he highlighted the recent decision to share the jail with the county, rather than building a new one, (which saved the city $6 million), working with unions to reduce overtime (by dividing up the work week for labor crews), and trying to push for lower health care costs for government employees, including mandating the use of generic drugs.
McGinn and his staff, it seems, were looking anywhere they could for waste or additional costs. One example he used was that of grant funding, one of the City's key methods for dispersing public dollars to help businesses and organizations get off the ground. According to the Mayor, 23.5% of overall grant funding in 2011 went into administrative costs alone, rather than actually going to the public. His proposal, then, includes a provision for the Department of Neighborhoods to consolidate grant-giving administration to lower costs, make it easier to apply for a grant, and generally allow more grant money to be given to community members.
Unfortunately, phrases like "reducing administrative costs" and "decreasing overhead" are code for loss of government jobs. The 2012 budget includes over 100 fewer jobs than last year, and will definitely lead to triple-digit lay-offs. But it won't be of police officers.
One of the main concerns, as laid out by several council members, was the potential cuts to the police force. The Mayor was very clear in his emphasis on the importance of public safety, including ensuring funding for health and human services and, of course, the actual number of officers on the street.
Touting the city's lowered crime rates (which are the lowest they've been in over 40 years), as well as the Seattle Police Department's many partnerships and initiatives, which have helped to "meet and exceed goals" without, as many have pointed out, hiring any more officers. McGinn admitted that yes, over the course of 2011, the City of Seattle saw 26 fewer officers, whose positions they did not fill--and that the vacancies saved around 2.4 million.
However, the Mayor pointed out, though the 2012 budget doesn't allow for more officers, it will preserve funding to fill any currently-filled officer positions that might become vacant, which will allow for enough staffing. There will not, he assured the council, be cutting the police budget.
It wasn't all about cops, though--McGinn also went over his plans to invest in schools and educational programs to improve academic achievement and reduce drop-out rates, including a levy that has been increased and will be in front of the voters in November, as well as intentions to maintain funding for affordable housing assistance, such as support for low-income renters.
The Mayor's budget also includes a "rainy day" fund, or reserve, of around $3.4 million "in case things get worse."
Now, it's up to the City Council (as well as the public) to decide what stays and what goes. Jean Godden has already released a canned statement about the budget that tells us nothing at all, but that's not remotely surprising.
As always, we'll keep you posted.
