PAINE FIELD, JUNE 2: Snohomish County Executive, Dave Somers, invoked his prior career experience as a fisheries biologist to explain that the inflationary havoc pummeling the county budget is akin to a natural disaster, or as Somers described it, “disturbance ecology.”
“Disturbance ecology is very useful,” Somers explained in his keynote address for the annual Snohomish County Update to the Economic Alliance Snohomish County audience today.
“That’s the study of how disasters like floods or fires disrupt an ecosystem and then how those ecosystems bounce back,” said Somers, connecting the simile. “The thing about ‘disturbances’ is that they hurt in the moment. They are challenging– sometimes devastating,” Somers continued, “but they also open up a lot of new possibilities from every disruption.”
“From every disturbance,” Somers said optimistically, “a new habitat can form and grow. This is not a time of plenty for our county budget. It’s a time of disturbance and scarcity.”
The scarcity has been accelerated by unyielding inflation. Somers cited the following inflationary data to the civic crowd gathered at Paine Field, inside The Boeing Future Of Flight: in the 20 years between 2000 and 2020, construction costs for things like highways, bridges, and infrastructure projects increased about 70%. Then added, “In the five years between 2020 and 2025, they increased another 70%. That’s 20 years of rising cost pressures, historically, into a quarter of that time.”
Somers compared the county financial crunch to a typical household budget, “Like you, our costs have gone up much faster than our revenues. Our revenues have not mirrored that increase,” Somers advised while emphasizing, “I know many, in our community are worried about rising costs. Affordability is a challenge.”
His solution, he says, “will require a mix of strategies” admitting, “there isn’t a single solution that will set the county on a sustainable (financial) path” and then vowed, “my goal is to ensure I’ve done everything in my power to leave the county on a sustainable trajectory when my time as Executive ends.”
Somers mentioned spending cuts as part of his upcoming biennial budget proposal which he expects to release in September, saying, “Right now, that means developing a budget that balances spending cuts with new revenue.”
Elaborating, he said, “People may not realize it, but reductions in spending already have been taking place. We look internally to cut costs before we seek out new revenue. Our Public Works Department has reduced operating costs by $10 million a year and delayed $100 million in (planned) projects.”
“It’s not easy to propose or pass new revenue options,” said Somers, “but I want to be clear, that we are looking at reducing spending first. Local revenue options second and specifically revenue that supports community priorities like transportation, infrastructure, and public safety.”
From there, Somers shifted to the other side of the fiscal ledger, “We are at point in the county where a structural budget deficit requires action. “
The first of those actions will be a proposed 0.1% sales tax increase for Snohomish County, said Somers, “I will be proposing a justice fund later this year to provide dedicated sales tax revenue for our (county) law and justice system and the Legislature has given us authority to go out for funding support (to fund the county justice system).” The 0.1% sales tax hike would have to be approved by the Snohomish County Council but Somers has indicated he’ll sign the sales tax if approved at the Council level.
The second proposed tax increase will be a $20 hike to car tabs on vehicles registered at unincorporated Snohomish County addresses. It, too, would have to be approved by the County Council, but if your vehicle is already registered to an address inside a city limit (i.e. Everett, Marysville, Lake Stevens, Lynnwood), the proposed $20 car tab tax won’t apply to you.
Somers speech claimed, “We need a measured and balanced approach. We also need your voices. I encourage everyone to stay informed and engage in the budget process”, which will begin with these tax hike issues in front of the County Council over the next few months.
“So, out of all this turmoil,” Somers said, returning to the ‘disturbance ecology’ comparison, “we can build something stronger and more sustainable. This is a disruption, but the ecosystem we live in is truly something special. When the disturbance happens, we grow back together, and we grow stronger.”