Update for July 11:
A King County press release dated July 11 said the council has agreed to a new model for interacting with the county's unincorporated areas. Part of the new model includes cutting funding to and contractual agreements with UACs (like the North Highline UAC that represents White Center and the surrounding area).
The press release stated, "The framework preserves the existing Community Service Centers that provide remote access to county services, as well as existing liaison staff for the UAC’s who would now serve as a single point of contact for residents. It also provides one-time transition funding to Unincorporated Area Councils. The Executive is scheduled to deliver a proposal to implement the Community Service Areas plan at the time he transmits the annual county budget to the Council in late September."
Here is the press release in its entirety:
Legislation creates new framework, implements broader outreach to unincorporated residents
Citing expanded outreach and following the King County Strategic Plan, the Metropolitan King County Council today adopted a new model developed by the County Executive for interaction between the County and its 285,000 residents living in the unincorporated communities outside the boundaries of the county’s 39 cities. King County serves as the local government for unincorporated areas
“This new model will support strong community leadership that is vital to informed policy making,” said Councilmember Joe McDermott, sponsor of the legislation. “My colleagues and I deeply appreciate the continued service of community advocates. We look forward to working together into the future.”
“This new framework will give an opportunity for more groups in the unincorporated area throughout the county to participate in the decision-making process,” said Councilmember Kathy Lambert, who represents rural northeast county residents in District 3. “The Council and the Executive will be working together to make sure the concerns of residents are considered in both the legislative and executive branches of government.”
“The UACs have been strong and important advocates for the residents in the communities they represent in unincorporated King County,” said Council Chair Larry Gossett. “This framework is an opportunity to expand outreach to make sure that all of the 285,000 citizens living outside of our cities have a voice in their government.”
The adopted legislation calls for the establishment of unincorporated community service areas (CSAs) that will cover all of unincorporated areas. Under the framework, a single point of contact will hold meetings with service areas to develop work programs and provide regular opportunities for community-based organizations, such as Unincorporated Area Councils (UACs), to meet and work with King County officials.
Interbranch teams of existing staff from across the spectrum of County programs and services would coordinate public outreach and service delivery in each CSA, in close collaboration with the County Councilmember for that district. Staff would continue working with UACs while expanding outreach to include work with community councils and other organizations.
“In considering this legislation, we struggled to balance the needs of unincorporated area outreach with the County’s challenging financial situation,” said Budget Chair Julia Patterson. “I believe we have struck a good balance with this proposal. We have carefully considered the needs of unincorporated area residents, while building in assurances that expenses for this effort will not be increased beyond the current proposal in the 2012 budget.”
“I appreciate the service of our existing Unincorporated Area Councils. They have been working hard and providing our county leaders with the unincorporated area perspective for many years,” said Councilmember Reagan Dunn. “I hope this new framework can build on those relationships and expand outreach to other parts of the unincorporated areas that don’t have Unincorporated Area Councils.”
The framework preserves the existing Community Service Centers that provide remote access to county services, as well as existing liaison staff for the UAC’s who would now serve as a single point of contact for residents. It also provides one-time transition funding to Unincorporated Area Councils. The Executive is scheduled to deliver a proposal to implement the Community Service Areas plan at the time he transmits the annual county budget to the Council in late September.
“I thank the Council for joining with me and my staff to ensure that all residents in the unincorporated areas can have meaningful involvement in the decisions that impact their communities,” said Executive Dow Constantine. “With this support we can now expand our outreach to all urban and rural unincorporated communities and work with them on a plan that can be implemented with existing staff and existing resources.”
This story will be updated with the North Highline UAC response.
Original story from June 10:
The North Highline Unincorporated Council (NHUAC) , along with five other unincorporated area councils throughout King County, is likely facing a dramatic shift in operation for 2012. Major changes being considered by the King County Council include ending contractual agreements with the UACs and cutting each council’s $10,000 yearly budget, according to King County report from April 15.
UACs were created in 1994 as part of King County’s Citizen Participation Initiative to better service the county’s estimated 284,100 citizens living in rural and urban areas in between cities. The goal of UACs was to “provide a venue for ongoing communication between unincorporated area residents and King County.” Community service representatives were also hired to act as liaisons between UACs and the county, according to the report.
In the words of NHUAC president Barbara Dobkin, “We don’t set policy, we don’t govern, we are here to be a link to the county, to help people wade through the layers … to get to the people you need to talk to.”
Ending contractual agreements with UACs
King County Executive Dow Constantine’s recommendation to the county council is that contracts end with UACs (along with their $10,000 budget), replaced by the establishment of eight to 12 “unincorporated Community Service Areas with logical boundaries that together cover all of unincorporated King County. “
The Executive’s recommendation says each service area will have a single point of contact with the County, that the County will “advertise and hold public meetings at least once each year” and that the County will “provide regular opportunities to (UAC) residents to meet with King County elected officials and senior management.”
NHUAC members question how “holding public meetings at least once each year” is an improvement over the monthly meetings they currently hold that are open to the public.
UAC budgets cut
Under the new system, UACs will be given $2500 in “transition funding,” then be on their own to compete for grants instead of pulling from the $10,000 yearly allotment (Dobkin clarified that UAC’s do not get a check for $10,000 but rather pull from a budget when needed. She said the NHUAC has never maxed out their budget).
According to Dobkin and NHUAC Councilmember Liz Giba, the NHUAC uses their funds to pay for liability insurance, host candidate forums, maintain their website and help put on community events like Jubilee Days and the Steve Cox Memorial dedication. The funds also go towards community clean-up projects like clearing up graffiti and the NHUAC push to close down the trouble-brewing Club Evolucion in White Center (the all-ages club was consistently associated with weekend gang-related violence and crime).
The biggest concern for NHUAC members, according to Dobkin, is that losing their funding will force the council of volunteers to focus most of their effort on obtaining grants rather than bettering the North Highline community. If they change goes through, Dobkin said they will be competing with organizations like the White Center Community Development Association (she said the CDA pays their salaries through grants and therefore can justify the time commitment to obtain them).
After years of forging relationships with King County officials and honing their bureaucracy-wading skills, Dobkin is disappointed with the new proposal.
“We have direct links, we have relationships that have been in place now since the beginning of the council,” she said. “To let all that expire, it would be a great loss to this community.”
Why the proposed change?
According to the King County report, Executive Constantine is recommending changes to the Citizen Participation Initiative and UAC system in part because UACs only represent 32 percent of all unincorporated citizens, existing UACs “have varying levels of participation and representation” and UACs must comply with public disclosure laws that “require a clear understanding of the law and careful records management. Full compliance with the PRA is beyond the capacity of most small non-profit organizations.”
Dobkin and Giba said they have been told the change also comes down to budget cuts. District 8 King County Councilman Joe McDermott spoke with the NHUAC in May and said although the six UAC budgets only account for $60,000, the actual cost of working with UACs is closer to $400,000 a year.
“I know … from my work with UACs over time that you are well organized, you have a strong voice, you are ardent agitators when needed to be for your community, and whether or not there was a contractual agreement I can’t imagine that the North Highline UAC wouldn’t have a strong voice with the County,” Councilman McDermott said.
The NHUAC is already operating on a limited budget in 2011, according to Dobkin. They were given $1500 to work with in the first six months of the year and expect a similar stipend for the second half of 2011.
Closely related to the future of NHUAC is the question of whether Burien will eventually annex North Highline and White Center (if that happens a UAC is no longer necessary). For the latest coverage of that issue, please click here.
