Locke Urges Community Involvement Governor Says State Needs Help From Citizens, Groups

Gov. Gary Locke on Wednesday urged local government officials to get their constituents involved in helping make state government work.

“Doing more with less has become our mantra,” Locke told delegates at the annual Association of Washington Counties convention in Spokane. “People expect more from government than government can deliver.”

Ordinary citizens, community groups and other local organizations need to assume more responsibility for their well-being, he said.

Reiterating a request he made last week at the Association of Washington Cities convention, Locke asked for help in educating the public about the state’s transportation needs. He also stressed the importance of local governments’ role in putting into practice growth management, education and juvenile justice programs.

Away from the stage, some county officials were quietly building support for seeking more money for a state-mandated detention program.

Thurston County officials say the state isn’t providing counties with enough money to pay for the 2-year-old program, which allows parents and authorities to place chronic runaways in detention facilities.

Voter-approved Initiative 601 prohibits the Legislature from mandating new programs without giving counties the money to operate them.

Thurston County is filing claims with the state’s Office of Financial Management to recover program costs not covered by state funds, county commissioner Diane Oberquell said.

If OFM denies the claims, the county plans to sue.

Oberquell has been lobbying officials from other counties to join the effort and says she is having some success. Most counties are finding they need more money for the program, she said.

“The Legislature has consistently underfunded these kinds of costs,” Oberquell said. “Our resources are becoming fewer and fewer. It’s a continuous eroding of our discretionary funds.”

Some counties are concerned about potential funding shortfalls for juvenile justice-reform programs, too, which Locke championed Wednesday.

He said he is confident Republican leaders of the Legislature will take responsibility for providing counties with more money.

Oberquell said Thurston County officials decided to file the claims after appeals to lawmakers fell on deaf ears. But county officials will make their pitch to legislators again next year, she said.