I-695’S Bite Not As Bad As Its Bark - So Far Despite Some Painful Cuts, Many Agencies Coping, But Future’S Unclear

Three months after passage of state Initiative 695, predictions of budgetary gloom and doom - and the consequences for citizens - are coming true in some areas.

Poor women and children in rural northeastern Washington and book lovers in Spokane are among those feeling the pinch as local governments slash programs in the face of I-695-generated budget cuts.

But some dire predictions have yet to materialize.

Mass layoffs of police and firefighters and the gutting of many road projects, as predicted by opponents of the measure, haven’t happened.

Shortly after the November vote, Spokane police and fire officials predicted they would have to cut nearly 20 jobs between them because of I-695-generated budget cuts. Those jobs may be saved, however, through budget maneuvering at the local level.

But the future after I-695 is still unclear for many government agencies.

Cuts predicted before the election, as well as others not foreseen, may be in the offing during the next year as local governments take a hard look at how they spend money.

The initiative, which was passed with wide support across the state, cut vehicle license tab fees to $30, resulting in a $550 million shortfall in state revenue this year alone.

Much of that cash had been earmarked for local governments to pay for everything from pothole repairs to library clerks.

The state Legislature is grappling with ways to replace as much of the lost revenue as possible.

Some government agencies that relied on the motor vehicle excise tax for a large part of their budgets, such as the Spokane Regional Health District, are waiting to see what happens in Olympia before deciding what to do next.

Others have gone ahead and started chopping.

The Northeast Tri-County Health District, which serves Ferry, Stevens and Pend Oreille counties, lost $105,000 in car-tab revenue and another $97,000 in other budget cuts this year.

As a result, the district has laid off six workers and eliminated three other positions that weren’t filled, said Dorothy McBride, director of community health services.

The cuts included a public health nurse, an environmental health specialist and a clerk in the Women, Infants and Children program.

The layoffs, coupled with the lost revenue, have forced the district to close health clinics in Loon Lake, Tum Tum, Northport, Ione and Cusick, McBride said. Those clinics provided immunizations, support services to pregnant women and other programs.

Most of those services still are available, McBride said, but some people have to drive more than an hour to reach them.

District officials also slashed enrollment in nutritional programs for women with infant children by 40 percent, she said. That cut affects 400 families.

“What we really did was go back to basics as far as what we wanted to provide,” McBride said. “This has been one of the most painful things I’ve ever gone through.”

I-695 cuts also are being felt in larger cities.

Spokane officials cut programs and eliminated jobs to make up for $3.9 million lost due to the initiative.

The Spokane Public Library laid off seven staff members, demoted 15 others and cut hours at the downtown library by one-third. The downtown branch now is closed Saturdays and Sundays.

That decision hit home for Jim and Tamara Weaver of Spokane.

Avid readers, the Weavers often visited the downtown library on Saturdays before going shopping and maybe out to eat.

Now they visit the South Hill branch, which is open on Saturdays but has a much more limited number of books and resources.

“And the lines at the checkout are just so much longer,” Jim Weaver said. “We hope they are able to do something else once they’ve had time to think about it, like maybe close the downtown branch on a weekday or something and keep it open on Saturdays. The options now are just really ugly.”

Library officials said they cut service at the downtown library because it serves fewer people than the branches do. On any given day, the branches have a combined circulation of 175,000 books compared with 65,000 books at the downtown library.

The city’s police and fire departments also have absorbed hits.

The Police Department eliminated a program that put officers in public schools and pulled its detectives off the Spokane serial killer task force.

Police Chief Roger Bragdon also combined the department’s community-oriented policing services and Block Watch program to save money this year, eliminating three jobs. City funding for the COPS program could be eliminated altogether if another source of money isn’t identified by next year, Bragdon said.

The Spokane Valley Fire District was forced to postpone buying a ladder truck to replace its 1975 model.

But, as proponents of I-695 claimed before the election, many agencies have been able to do enough money shuffling and prioritizing to avoid deep cuts in public services.

Late last year, Pend Oreille County Sheriff Jerry Weeks warned residents that he might have to cut up to four deputies from his force of 12 if I-695 were passed.

Through some fancy financial footwork, Weeks has been able to avoid layoffs for now.

He has had to eliminate programs, including DARE and the department’s marine patrol unit, to make it work, and two deputy positions that were vacant have not been filled.

But so far, no layoffs.

Before the election, Medical Lake City Council members fretted about the future of a project to reconstruct and add sidewalks to Campbell Street. They also worried that layoffs would be inevitable, Councilman Sam Julagay said.

But the Campbell Street project is moving forward, and layoffs have been avoided. “We did some maneuvering, and it appears to be all on track,” Julagay said.

In Adams County, state transportation workers said a project to upgrade “Killer Corner” at the intersection of state Highway 17 and state Highway 26 would be doomed if I-695 were passed.

But the project is still alive, with state officials negotiating with private landowners to buy about 30 acres needed for an overpass and ramps. The improvements still may be postponed two years if the negotiations fall through.

Spokane police and fire departments have until March to find a way to keep as many as 10 jobs apiece once targeted for the chopping block, Bragdon said.

“We’re working hard to find money in the existing budget,” he said.

The worrying isn’t over yet.

Julagay said the Medical Lake council may ask voters to approve a special levy this fall to pay for the city’s emergency medical services program. That would allow the council to use current EMS moneys, which come from the city’s general fund, to preserve a police officer position that otherwise would be eliminated.

“We have some concerns for next year that we’re going to take another $90,000 hit,” Julagay said. “Budget time is going to be really tough next year.”

Weeks, the Pend Oreille County sheriff, said his motor pool budget contains $64,000, enough to keep the department’s patrol cars gassed up and on the road through early summer.

But if county commissioners aren’t able to find $60,000 in emergency funds for the cars when the money runs out, Weeks said, he will be forced to lay off at least one deputy so he can buy gasoline.

“A lot of people, my own wife included, say they’ve heard all these scare tactics and they don’t believe them,” Weeks said. “But this is not a joke. This is not a scare tactic.”