State lawmakers must face fiscal emergency now

This editorial appears in the Aug. 25, 2010, Yakima Herald-Republic.

Yakima County and the city of Yakima got the message. So why can't the governor and Democrats, who control both the House and the Senate, get on board?

Freezing wages for union and nonunion workers has no longer become a mere topic for discussion. It has rapidly turned into a necessity as state sales tax revenues continue to dip in a recession that augurs poorly for a vibrant recovery. Elected officials can no longer wait out a recession as they have in the past. The economy has undergone seismic and systemic changes. When businesses finally grow confident about the future, our next economic recovery will be much less robust than the past. That means fewer dollars for government to operate on.

And that means fewer dollars to pay public employees. At least it should mean that. Salaries and benefits make up a significant part of city, county and state budgets. For the state, it amounts to more than two-thirds.

Though we are heading into another year of a faltering economy, wages for public employees have nonetheless increased. That's not the case for the private sector, where jobs have been lost, hours reduced and wages frozen or reduced.

So it's encouraging to see Yakima County commissioners send out word last week to their 1,200 employees that when they sit down for contract talks, they will probably request a wage freeze. It's not really an option; it's mandatory. With the county facing another $1.5 million in deficits next year, what other choice is there? Commissioners already have laid off 36 workers since 2009, including 10 last month. Isn't it more prudent to save on salaries and benefits than to lay off scores of employees?

The city of Yakima is likewise facing a similar situation. Next year the city expects to be $2.2 million in the hole and has already set in motion a process to whittle away at what had before been sacrosanct areas -- the police and fire departments. Recently, the council turned down a contract that would have netted firefighters a pay increase.

Yes, we are in a crisis. But you have yet to hear the word "emergency" spoken in the governor's mansion or in the halls of the House and Senate, where Democrats wield control.

To fend off a continuing dip in sales tax revenue this year, Gov. Chris Gregoire has asked state agencies to prepare for across-the-board cuts of up to 7 percent to take effect Oct. 1. She has pushed aside requests, most notably from Republicans, to hold a short special session to deal with the deficit.

And the bad news keeps coming. If no special session is called, state lawmakers will return to Olympia in January and confront another projected deficit -- a whopping $3 billion -- when they attempt to balance the 2011-13 budget.

What the governor and lawmakers need to do is embrace RCW 41.80.010(6). Under this section of state law, the governor or legislators can declare a fiscal emergency and reopen contract talks with public employee unions. Only when this happens can the state truly reach a long-term fix to a faltering state budget that continues to bleed red ink.

How many more billion-dollar deficits will it take before the governor and lawmakers declare an emergency? Let's get it done now. We doubt the words "budget surplus" will be uttered anytime soon.

* Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are James E. Stickel, Bob Crider, Spencer Hatton and Karen Troianello.