Sue Rahr was back before the King County Council this morning with a picture of what people can expect to lose based on the current budget, especially if Sims’ lifeboat (a plan to fund $10.5 million worth of general fund programs out of reserves for six months and look for help from the 2009 legislature to keep them going) sinks. From a press release kicked out by her office this morning:Some units will be totally eliminated, including vice and gambling, mid-level drug unit, pawnshop unit, security in District Courts, parental abduction unit, fraud unit, domestic violence unit, and the recruiting unit. Other units will suffer cuts such as the terrorism task force, K-9 unit, homicide unit, 9-1-1 operators, community service officers, warrant unit, gang unit, and major accident investigations.It’s generally a more specific version of Rahr and the other public safety agencies’ “Public Safety in Peril” tour. Ron Sims’ Chief of Staff Kurt Triplett says the Executive is aware of how painful the cuts are, but in a year when they’re trying to cover a $93 million shortfall in the general fund, programs have to go. “We’ve heard a lot of unhappiness with the cuts, but we haven’t heard many alternatives–we haven’t heard any at all,” Triplett says.
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