RSSOthers should follow Yakima County when it comes to budgets
Yakima Herald-Republic
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This editorial appears in the Oct. 9, 2009, Yakima Herald-Republic
Tough times require tough measures, and that certainly appears to be the case for Yakima County, the city of Yakima and other municipalities in Central Washington.
Dwindling revenues through property and sales taxes, along with diminished investment returns, have put a hammerlock on municipal and county operations. The altered landscape has forced local governments to make difficult decisions in order to balance next year's budgets.
For the first time in nearly three decades, the city of Yakima is laying off workers. Five jobs will be cut; that's on top of 18 positions that have not been filled. The total of 23 vacant positions will help the city reduce a $4.1 million budget gap going into 2010.
Yakima County commissioners have proposed something even more unusual in trying to offset their $3 million budget deficit: closing down administrative offices for one day each workweek. If the proposal clears several hurdles -- including agreement from union representatives -- county planning, auditor and several other offices would be closed three days a week and be open nine hours a day for the other four. That would amount to a 10 percent cutback in hours for some county staff members.
Nonunion workers as well as department heads and managers would also see a reduction in hours.
Those working in public safety -- the Sheriff's Office, Department of Corrections and the courts -- would not be affected and would remain in operation for the entire workweek.
With roughly 1,000 employees, the county predicts this reduced workweek would produce tangible savings and end up taking a serious bite out of its expected revenue shortfall for 2010. This approach also helps sidestep layoffs, a prospect any business, whether public or private, would prefer to avoid.
Yakima County commissioners have proven themselves in recent years to be innovators in how they have pieced together their budgets, developing a Priorities in Government process that's easy to understand. This latest attempt to curb the escalating burden of payroll expenses is another example of their fiscally sound approach to budgeting.
We hope other municipalities consider similar approaches. Sunnyside has already taken this step of reducing costs by closing down City Hall on Fridays.
While it may not be the preferred way of taking care of the public's business, part-time employment is far better than no employment.
With continued softness in the economy, this approach to reducing payroll costs is frequently the right one to take both from a humanitarian and productivity perspective. We hope it forestalls any more drastic measures.
* Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Bob Crider, Spencer Hatton and Karen Troianello.
Property taxes have gone down??? My property tax on the land portion of my small estate went down 3,000 dollars while the building portion went up over $11,000 for a net increase of $8000. I have not done anything to improve the property short of mowing and weeding. I did not paint, put in a driveway, reroof the house or added new sideing in the last 7 years. But, they can say the value of my "property" went down. In talking to my neighbors, all of us are seeing an increase in the tax we will pay due to the increase in the building portion of our property. Also, for those who own business in the my neighborhood circle, the taxes are increasing there also. So please don't give us the dwindling value of our property story. You will find a way to get more of our money one way or another.
Report ViolationI can go along with the closing of admin offices to a four-day week. If the union doesn't agree, then they will join the ranks of typical, short-sighted unions, who would rather break the companies they work for than to take a cut to save their jobs.
Report ViolationBut the company called the government can't be broken by the union.
Report ViolationPrediction 1:
The shrinking of our local government will have ZERO effect on our daily lives.
Prediction 2:
Politicians (and the YHR) will warn us of dire consequences if we don't raise taxes.
Since reading this and the subsequent article in today's paper where the county is over $1 million short, (equaling it's entire payroll for one year) I think the editors should have chosen the City of Yakima as the poster child for budgeting.
According to reports, the City will only lay of a comparative few workers. This should be recognized as a feather in Zais'e cap for his conservative money managing in prior years.
Meanwhile, the county should do more tune-up in their future projections and longer range planning, rather than using their general funds for shortfalls on an ongoing basis as they have. In short, proactive budgeting instead of reactive.
Maybe OLD Barack can have another stimulus package and help the American people this time. The last one seemed to prop-up foriegn countries and buy off some "money men" needed for the next election.
Report Violation"Dwindling revenues through property and sales taxes..."
I don't know about you, but my property assessment went up dramatically this year. Thus, my taxes will increase next year. How does that happen in a housing-led economic downturn?
Wait. I know. The county has a budget shortfall.
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