Money

King County Executive Kurt Triplett said he will give away 39 parks, worth about $57 million dollars, in order to help close a $56 million budget shortfall next year.

Two of the parks on the list include the 5.6- acre White Center Heights Park (Southwest 102nd and 7th Avenue Southwest) and the 9.4- acre White Center Pond Natural Area (102nd Southwest and 12th Avenue Southwest).

The parks would close Jan. 1

The county is targeting school districts, cities other public or private agencies as likely to take over the parks, of which several lie in unincorporated areas of King County. Triplett said the county is "out of money."

The land must remain park land. Triplett said if takers are not found, maintenance would be severely reduced for those 39 parks, and fences put up around playgrounds and parking lots.

Thirteen jobs would be lost by closing the parks, and it's expected to save the county $4.6 million, said Triplett.

Dear Editor,

When Wall Street collapsed, taxpayers were told we had to support a $700 billion bailout for the crooks that caused the collapse in the first place. Now middle class American working families need our broken health care system fixed.

Millions of us are struggling to pay health care costs and make ends meet. But wait – some in Congress are saying we “can’t afford” health care reform. That does not make sense to me – in fact, I find their argument downright insulting. Help the fat cats and cronies out, but give the finger (and nothing else) to the American people.

Nine years ago I donated a kidney to keep my beloved husband alive. Thank goodness he is doing well. We have medical insurance through my employer, but it would vanish should I lose my job.

Many people are not aware that kidney transplants and dialysis costs are covered by Medicare, no matter your age, race, income, etc. But costs for the immune suppressing drugs needed to keep the patient from rejecting the organ are not. In our case, if we had to pay the $2,000-plus per month prescription costs, it would have bankrupted us.

With an increase in demand as high as 35 percent this year and a sharp drop in donations of baby food and formula, food banks across the city are desperate for donations. Solid Ground is hoping a three-day initiative starting Aug. 19 by local junk removal company 1-800 RID-OF-IT Junk Removal will help the troubling situation.  

Trish Twomey, Hunger Action Center Manager for Solid Ground, said there is always an increased demand for food items in the summer because school is out and children no longer have access to breakfast or lunch programs.  However, this summer the situation is markedly worse, she said.

“Families in our community are hungry, and the food banks are not able to cope with the increasing need,” said Twomey.  “Working families are faced with tough decisions and choices, and they are turning to food banks to cover some of their food costs.  This food drive is a great way to help families feed their kids.” 

Food and monetary donations are significantly lower this year, while demand is up on average 35 percent across Seattle, according to Solid Ground.  Stocks of formula and baby food are also down significantly.   

On July 16, the Seattle City Council’s Finance and Budget committee voted to support small business, workforce development and senior programs and unanimously passed three pieces of legislation to boost the economy.

The following was approved by the committee and will be taken up by the Full Council July 20 at 2 p.m.

●  Raising the B&O Tax exemption to $100,000 from $80,000, providing relief to small businesses.

●  Accepting Federal Stimulus grant money (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) to fund summer youth employment and senior nutritional services.

“This is another step forward in fulfilling our Economic Recovery goals by providing relief and jobs for our citizens” said council president Richard Conlin.

“While I’m concerned about declining revenues, I’m committed to supporting small businesses wherever we can,” said council member Jean Godden, chair of the Finance and Budget Committee.  “Their success is crucial to the success of our city and local economy.”

The King County Council has cut positions in its own staff and those in its executive-branch agencies and froze hiring for non-essential county services to help preserve most of the critical human services “lifeboat” programs in the 2009 King County budget.

This budget amendment, sponsored by council members Bob Ferguson, Dow Constantine, and Larry Gossett, enables the county to fund $1.5 million in lifeboat programs without spending any of the reserves set aside to help close the anticipated shortfall in the 2010 budget.

“With sales tax collections in decline and the prospect of more hard times ahead, we must take immediate, decisive action to protect critical public services,” said Council Chair Dow Constantine, a co-sponsor of the plan. “Last year’s budget used the ‘lifeboat’ concept—granting only partial-year funding to some programs to encourage the state Legislature to approve new revenue sources. The Legislature didn’t provide any new funding, so this proposal shifts existing revenues to maintain key human services programs.”

King County Council Chair Dow Constantine has called for a county hiring freeze through the end of 2009, a step that could save an estimated $15 million, including approximately $1 million in general fund spending, he said.

“We must cut spending immediately to offset costs for essential ‘lifeboat’ programs that were only granted partial-year funding in this year’s budget,” said Constantine. “Leaving positions vacant will provide funds to be used in next year’s budget, which has already been projected to have a shortfall of almost $50 million.”

Due to the public safety and public health nature of their positions, the proposed freeze would not affect the hiring of personnel in four key areas:

- The King County Sheriff’s Office

- Corrections officers in county correctional facilities

- Health care providers in county correctional facilities and county health centers

- The King County Superior Court, King County District Court, or King County Prosecutor’s Office

After seven years in Ballard, Epilogue Books will be permanently closing their doors in mid-August, according to a press release from the owners.

They report that they were unable to reach agreeable terms on a new lease with the landlord and could not find another building in time.

"We've all enjoyed serving the Ballard neighborhood and surrounding area. Thanks to everyone for their support." said Nathan Heath, owner of Epilogue Books. "The store will close July 1 through 4 to prepare for liquidation. Clearance sales will begin on Sunday, July 5 at 11 a.m. All items in the store, both new and used, will be marked down 20 percent to 70 percent. We have more than 70,000 books that we need to sell over the next month and a half."

Everything, including the shelves, must go. The store is located at the corner of Northwest Market Street and 20th Avenue Northwest.

The recession has hit Ballard hard, with several other businesses, some long-time Ballard fixtures, forced to close.

Gifted, a colorful gift and card store in the Archie McPhee style, is expanding in its Ballard Avenue location.

Work on expanding the store deeper into its building has been going on for a month and will be totally completed by Seafood Fest, Gifted owner Emoret Fossum said.

When a new owner purchased the building at 5427 Ballard Ave. N.W. last summer, he decided to expand the spaces of both Gifted and Kavu, though that store will be moving in the future, Fossum said.

Fossum said she was more excited for the expansion at the time it was announced before the recession.

"It was last summer before the bottom fell out," she said. "We're a little nervous now, but hopefully it will be a good thing."

She said Gifted will use the extra room for more of the same and will have a little more room to spread out.

The Seattle City Council today launched a new Web site, Recession Resources for Seattle Residents, to help people cope with the current economic crisis.

The new site offers links to a variety of informational sites and resources for those seeking job training, debt assistance, help with housing issues and healthcare.

“Our goal is to make it easier for Seattle residents to find the help they need, and find it quickly,” council president Richard Conlin said. “Hopefully, these resources will make what is a difficult time for many people just a little less stressful.”

The council committed to getting this informational resource online as one of the elements of its Economic Recovery Plan embodied in resolution 31135. The complete list of topics that users will find assistance with includes foreclosures, home purchasing, safeguarding savings and retirement funds, debt service, job search and training, child care and food assistance, health care and utility bill payer assistance.

The council site essentially makes existing resources more accessible in one location.

Dear Editor,

With politicians in D.C. jabbering about when the massive government stimulus will start yielding results, we’re already beginning to see the fruits of their efforts.

As the West Seattle Herald reported, King County recently received $79 million of federal stimulus. While of course welcome in today’s dire economic straits, the distribution of these funds and the very means of their procurement offer a glimpse at one of the candidates fighting to become our next King County Executive.

The acquisition of these vital funds, as well as millions more currently pending, are “part of an organized effort to maximize the benefits to King County from federal stimulus funding sponsored by council chair Dow Constantine” as reported by the Herald.

In fact, Mr. Constantine has even authored legislation to create post that will be in charge of “identify[ing] appropriate grant opportunities and communicate timelines (…) to ensure timely submission of applications” in an effort to maximize the effect of the government stimulus in King County.