(Editor’s note: This article comes from our sister publication the Ballard News-Tribune.)

The last quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009 were the worst ever for sales tax returns in Seattle, which is having a dire affect on the city’s 2010 budget, said City Budget Director Dwight Lively during an Oct. 14 presentation to the Ballard District Council.

That, combined with losses in the B and O tax, has crippled the city's general fund, which relies on the two taxes for 40 percent of its budget.

To close the budget gap in 2010, Mayor Greg Nickels has proposed widespread cuts and the depletion of the city's rainy day fund.

Dively said public safety and direct human services were the mayor's top priorities when making cuts.

There will be no reduction in firefighters, 21 additional police officers will be hired and no direct service programs will be cut, he said.

"What that meant is we had to cut basically everything else," Dively said.

One of the major impacts of the cuts will be on Seattle Public Libraries. Most branches will see their hours reduced to 35 per week.

All unionized city employees have agreed to a 10-day, unpaid furlough. This will result in the closure of community centers and pools for 10 days of the year, Dively said.

The 2010 budget also includes a rate increase of 8.8 percent for City Light, which the City Council is currently debating, he said.

Dively said City Light counts on the sale of excess electricity on the wholesale market for about $140 million per year. This year, City Light is only expecting to make half of that amount due to crashing electricity market prices, he said.

"Without the rate increase, the cuts to City Light would be Draconian," Dively said.

The final major component of the 2010 budget is the use of approximately $25 million of the city's $30 million rainy day fund, which will most likely create another budget shortfall in 2011.

"The bad news is we won't have that money for 2011," Dively said.
He said with priority being increasingly placed on public safety, the library system and human services, it is easy to guess where the 2011 cuts will come from.

"Parks and Transportation are going to get slaughtered," he said.

Dively said the Department of Planning and Development could suffer heavy cuts as well because of the continuing lack of construction projects in the city.

The Seattle City Council is reviewing the mayor's proposed 2010 budget and will vote on it before the end of November.