The Board of Island County Commissioners - Commissioner Helen Price Johnson from District 1 (South and Central Whidbey), Commissioner Angie Homola from District 2 (Oak Harbor), and Commissioner John Dean from District 3 (North Whidbey and Camano Island) - will again host a series of public forums to solicit ideas and hear general concerns about local communities, as well as provide information on the primary election levy lid lift proposition. Islanders from throughout the county are welcome to attend.

 

The next two forums are scheduled as follows:

Wednesday, July 7, 6:00 p.m. at the Fireside Room, new building at the back of the parking lot, Trinity Lutheran Church, 18341 SR 525 in Freeland

Tuesday, July 13, 6:00 p.m. at Skagit Valley College, Hayes Hall, Room 137, 1900 SE Pioneer Way, Oak Harbor

MAP YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD

This program is designed to build and strengthen disaster readiness among neighbors.  Neighborhoods that are prepared for emergencies and disaster situations help to save lives, reduce the severity of injuries and trauma, and reduce property damage.  In addition, working together as a team and contributing as an individual develops stronger communities and improves the quality of life in the community.  You will learn the 9 steps to take immediately following a disaster, how to develop a neighborhood skills and equipment inventory, how to map your neighborhood and identify areas of concern such as gas meters, propane tanks and water shutoffs, and how to verify which neighbors may need extra help. 

To find out more and/or to get involved call 360-679-7370 or email dem@co.island.wa.us to have us come out and give a presentation to your group and/or to conduct a training of the facilitator for your neighborhood.  The only charge for this training is your desire and enthusiasm to become better prepared.

 

THIRD THURSDAY TRAINING

These are courses in the areas of incident/event emergency management and operations for those persons involved with or interested in emergency planning, response, and recovery efforts.  There is no charge for the courses. 

July 15 - IS-700.a – Introduction to National Incident Management System (NIMS)

August 19 - ICS-200.a – ICS for Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents

Classes start at 9:00 a.m. and finish around 4:00 p.m. with a half hour for lunch.  Location is Room B130, Island County Emergency Operations Center (EOC), in the County Annex Bldg at 1 NE 6 th St , Coupeville.  Please RSVP by email to dem@co.island.wa.us or call 360-679-7370.

 

COUNTY COMMISSIONERS HOST ISLAND FORUMS 

The Board of Island County Commissioners - Commissioner  Helen Price Johnson  from District 1 (South and Central Whidbey), Commissioner Angie Homola from District 2 (Oak Harbor), and Commissioner John Dean from District  3 (North Whidbey and Camano Island) – will again host a series of public forums this year to solicit ideas and hear general concerns about local communities.

 

Following is a list of the forum dates, times and locations:

 

Monday, June 21, 6:00 p.m. in the Board of County Commissioners Hearing Room (Room # 102B - basement),  County  Annex Building,  1 N.E. 6th  Street, Coupeville

Tuesday, June 22, 6:00 p.m. at the Camano Senior and Community Center, 606 Arrowhead Road, Camano Island  

Wednesday, July 7, 6:00 p.m. at Grigwire Hall, Old Building       (Community Building), Trinity Lutheran Church, 18341 SR 525, Freeland

Tuesday, July 13, 6:00 p.m. at Skagit Valley College, Hayes Hall, Room 137, 1900 SE Pioneer Way, Oak Harbor

 

Islanders from throughout the county are welcome and encouraged to attend.                                                                          

Island County remains in a sustained budget crisis and is about to hit a financial wall.

 

This critical, ongoing challenge is traced to the national economic recession and Island County’s past budgetary reliance on revenues from new housing construction. State Initiative 695 and Initiative 747 added to the financial “perfect storm”, creating a budget gap which now compromises the future financial solvency of the County.

 

Initiative 695 reduced funding for law and justice and public health. Initiative 747 limited the County’s property tax levy from increasing by more than 1%, while costs increased an average of 3% between 2002 and 2009. County government can no longer largely base its budgets on growth in sales tax revenue and other revenues from new construction to fund essential services. Its financial solvency is threatened and will be in peril without prudent and responsible revenue adjustments.

 

This economic situation exists despite already reducing expenses by $4.2 million, which is about 20% of the Current Expense Fund. County funding methods previously allowed by the state – sales taxes, real estate excise taxes, investment income, and property taxes – are no longer sufficient to sustain even the most basic of county services closely connected to quality of life.

 

Basic county services in jeopardy include law enforcement, courts, public health, roads, environmental protection, community planning, elections, public records, courthouse hours, staffing and computer technology, animal control, parks, senior services, WSU Extension. Cutting just the last two doesn’t solve the problem of keeping up with inflation, it would have negative social and economic impacts to our community, and cost taxpayers more in the long run. We would need to cut $5 million more than that over the next five years to avoid using up all our cash reserves. But there is no place left to cut.

 

As mentioned, expenses were cut by $4.2 million or approximately 20% of the Current Expense Fund between 2008-2010. The County workforce was reduced by over 50 positions. Work hours were reduced for many positions. Offices shortened their hours open to the public as a result of fewer employees. Health insurance benefits were reduced for all elected officials and non-union employees. Cost of living increases were eliminated, up to three years for some. Commissioners reduced their compensation by 10%. Elected officials made donations to the County and eliminated travel reimbursements. Fees for service were adjusted where prudent to recoup the cost of doing business. Energy consumption was reduced by 30% with estimated savings of $50,000 annually. Facilities were consolidated. The County partnered with South Whidbey Parks & Recreation, avoiding possible state closure of Deer Lake, Lone Lake and Goss Lake park facilities, and volunteers in a new Adopt-a-Park program stepped in to help maintain county parks.

 

The financial shortfall for 2010 will exceed $1.2 million and five-year financial forecasts show that despite rigorous budget reductions, Current Expense Fund expenses will continue to exceed revenues by over $1.8 million per year, completely exhausting Island County’s cash reserves by 2014 and leaving the County’s elected officials unable to provide fundamental support and services required by law.

 

To protect the financial viability of the County Current Expense Fund, the Board of County Commissioners will ask August 17 Primary Election voters if they wish to set the county’s regular property tax higher than the current limit otherwise allowed by state law. While the 2011 tax rate would be 59-cents per $1,000 of assessed value – the lowest rate in the state, with only five of 39 counties under $1 – the Board seeks voter approval of a 16-cent increase, bringing the levy rate to 75-cents per $1,000 of assessed value.

 

The proposed increase would generate approximately $2,059,776 additional revenue for 2011. For the four years following 2011, the proposition would also allow a 1% increase each year or a percentage increase tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton area, whichever is higher.

 

Revenues from the property tax increases, if approved by voters, would be used for the limited purposes of retaining public safety and other essential services, and, secondarily, gradually replenishing the County's contingency cash reserves.

 

While this request is neither comfortable nor popular, and it comes at the most inopportune time, it would be negligent to not inform islanders of the facts so that they can make informed decisions about the future of their government services.

Island County Assessor Dave Mattens and Island County Commissioner Helen Price Johnson addressed the recent $158,000 levy error with the Coupeville School Board at the Board’s May 10th meeting. Though the levy error will be corrected in next year’s tax collections, the school district is depending on those revenues to balance their budget for the 2010-11 school year and a stop-gap measure is needed. Mattens described the legal constraints the County has in responding to this situation and assured the District that steps are being taken to prevent future mistakes. The School Board then took action to pursue a line of credit and submit a claim for the expenses associated with the loan to the county. They agreed to draw upon the funds only as necessary. Coupeville School District Business Manager Janet Fisher had made preliminary inquires about a line of credit with two local banks and will have firmer numbers soon. Once actual costs are identified, then the process for county reimbursement can begin. Commissioner Price Johnson assured the School Board that the County will work with Superintendent Patti Page to minimize the impact of this situation to the school district.

Island County catching up on technology as planned and budgeted

Island County reached an important technological milestone Monday. The Board of Island County Commissioners approved a contract with True Automation, Inc. for computer software installation, training, maintenance and support to replace outdated property assessment and taxation systems used by the Assessor’s and Treasurer’s offices.

 

Island County Assessor Dave Mattens was joined by former county assessor Tom Baenen, Whidbey government watchdog Bill Strowbridge, and representatives of the real estate industry, Jason Easton, Christina Parker and Todd Bitts, to applaud Board adoption of the fully integrated property tax and assessment package, originally budgeted at $799,165 but now expected to cost $700,000 with $100,000 of that covered by a state grant. Everyone agreed it is long overdue.

 

Mattens, who vowed to improve technology in the Assessor’s office when he ran for office in 2006 and has been working for three years to make it happen, shared credit for the accomplishment with Island County Treasurer Linda Riffe, her chief deputy Ana Maria d. Nunez, who is a candidate for Treasurer this year, project manager Cathy Caryl , and former Island County Assessor Tom Baenen, “who fought hard for about a decade to make today’s event a reality.” Baenen pointed out that current staff levels in the Assessor's office are the same as they were 15 years ago, underscoring the need for technology tools to meet today’s mandates and expanded population.

 

“We have worked hard to find the most reliable, efficient, cost-effective product available on the market that would be a good fit for Island County,” Mattens added, referring to a thorough cost-benefit analysis of property tax and assessment systems on the market.

 

In addition to the current Board of Commissioners – Helen Price-Johnson, Angie Homola and John Dean -- Mattens thanked two previous Island County Commissioners, Mac McDowell and Phil Bakke , who joined Commissioner Dean in approving the budget for this program before the two left office.

 

The outdated existing computer system used a series of computer programs, one originally written in the 1970s for a Burroughs® mainframe computer, to calculate values, administer exemption programs and calculate levy rates and taxes. Most of it was translated into a Windows platform in 1998 with few enhancements, but some of the functionality was lost due to changes in computing platforms and equipment. The old program included multiple databases, one of them composed of 32 complex interactive spreadsheets containing millions of individual codes and symbols.

 

Prior audits by Department of Revenue and State Auditor’s Office criticized the software programs and spreadsheets, warning they are highly susceptible to errors, easy to make but difficult to detect.

 

Island County will be the 10th of Washington ’s 39 counties to use True Automation products. The new software makes all data publicly available on-line and produces complete reports for hearings, state agencies, and levy calculations almost immediately, rather than requiring weeks or months, Mattens said.

 

The new Assessor and Treasurer’s Office computer system follows on the heels of a new Sungard countywide accounting system, approved and budgeted for several years ago and finally in the implementation stage this year, through the leadership and coordination of Budget Director Elaine Marlow, Auditor Sheilah Crider, Deputy Auditor Anne LaCour, Central Services Assistant Director Diana Vaughn, and Human Resources Director Larry Larson.

 

For the past three months, County Commissioner Helen Price Johnson has represented Island County in Olympia working with 38 other counties and state legislators to help local governments find legislative solutions to better meet the needs of its citizens and to save money. A member of the Washington State Association of Counties’ (WSAC) Legislative Steering Committee, Commissioner Price Johnson attended meetings every other week, participated in committee work sessions, testified on proposed legislation and regularly met with legislators.

 

“Working through the broader county family, we were able to collaborate on important topics of mutual interest, identify common goals and then advocate for our local issues,” said Commissioner Price Johnson. “Getting adequate funding in the transportation budget for the Mukilteo ferry staffing was important to me. Also there was a bill which came from a Beverly Beach resident which passed allowing “golf cart zones” to be created in areas with a speed limit of twenty-five miles per hour or less."

 

This year, the Washington State Legislature adopted the following bills that benefitted county services and operations, which were signed into law by the Governor:

•  Substitute House Bill (SHB) 1653 – clarifying the relationship between the Growth Management Act and the Shoreline Management Act

•  Engrossed Substitute House Bill 3179 – providing some flexibility within existing revenue sources

•  SHB 1591 – providing flexibility with transportation benefit district revenue and project lists

•  Senate Bill (SB) 6209 – allowing county road funds to be used for park and ride lots

•  Substitute Senate Bill 6611 – provides additional time for local governments to update their Growth Management Act comprehensive plans

•  SB 6367 – allowing counties to direct public records requestors to their website for public records

 

The WSAC Legislative Steering Committee (LSC) sets annual legislative priorities for the non-profit Association of county officials. For the past two years, the LSC has focused primarily on more flexibility in local decision making so that unique community needs can be met with limited financial resources. Most counties in Washington have seen revenue decline as a result of the recession, putting a strain on many services and in some cases causing elimination of programs.

 

Other 2010 legislative priorities included:

•  Flexibility within Existing Revenue

•  Flexibility within Existing Grant/Loan Programs

•  Eliminating Certain State Mandates

•  Investing in Local Government Efficiency and Effectiveness

•  Financial Assistance to Maintain Current Levels

•  New Local Revenue Authorities for Specific Community Needs

 

The LSC is co-chaired by Commissioner Todd Mielke, Spokane County, and Commissioner Steve Stuart, Clark County. For more information about the committee’s work visit http://www.wacounties.org/wsac/legcenter.asp .

WSAC is a private, non-profit organization that provides its members research assistance, professional training, legislative advocacy, and a forum for discussing matters of common concern to counties. Members include the elected commissioners, council members and executives of Washington ’s 39 counties.

Island County is pleased to announce a net savings of $348,000 or approximately $23,000 per year for 15 years, achieved through refinancing $5 million in bonds from 2001 which originally paid for Coupeville courthouse renovation and a Juvenile Court Services building.

 

Standard & Poor's "Global Credit" report now gives Island County an 'AA' rating "with a stable outlook," due to its market value, good financial policies, and a low debt burden. The enhanced credit rating coupled with favorable market conditions to create a savings of more than 5%. The refinancing effort was spearheaded by Island County Treasurer, Linda Riffe, who commented, "This level of savings from a bond refinancing is unusually high and generates a healthy savings for the county taxpayers."

New Courthouse and Camano Office Hours Include Friday Closures

In response to additional budget shortfalls and budget cuts, The Board of Island County Commissioners say County offices in Coupeville will be open to the public Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and closed to the public on Fridays in order to provide staff uninterrupted time to complete work. The Friday closures also accommodate some reduction of staff hours, as agreed upon Dec. 22 by one of the courthouse employee unions.

On the Coupeville campus Planning, Public Works, and Health permit centers, as well as the Sheriff’s Department, will be open to the public 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and closed to the public on Fridays.

Other offices that will maintain their usual hours of operation are: Law and Justice (with the exception of the Sheriff), Human Services, Nursing, South Whidbey Health, the Oak Harbor Family Resource Center, the Camano Clinic, District Court, the Road Shops, and Solid Waste. The Camano Annex will maintain its usual hours Monday through Thursday but will close Friday .