Kitsap Committee Ready for Big Task of Budget Study

The Kitsap County's move to engage residents in the budget process had its official kick-off on Monday.

The Citizens Budget Committee was created so residents could help county commissioners set long-term budget priorities. The process — poring over the $300 million-plus county budget, understanding each department and coming up with solutions — could take a couple of years, according to county officials.

That's why the focus is not so much about the 2009 budget as it is the long-term priorities of residents, County Commissioner Steve Bauer said.

The 10 men and one woman present (two were absent) at Monday's meeting heard from the three county commissioners, each of whom detailed some of the challenges committee members will likely see.

Bauer said much of the county's budget is spelled out in state statutes that leave the county little or no choice on how to spend it.

Josh Brown, Central Kitsap commissioner, said 70 percent of the county's general fund budget goes to law and justice. "When folks say, 'Focus on the basics,' we're doing that," Brown said.

Jan Angel, South Kitsap's commissioner, said it will be good to have new eyes looking at whether the county's priorities are correct. Angel said that when she became a commissioner, she was surprised at the number of things the county spends money on. "A lot of things have been funded because we've always done it that way," she said.

Angel said the committee members would answer a core question: "It's going to come down to what are our county citizens willing to pay for, or not."

Gary Nelson, one of four committee members from the South Kitsap area, likened the impending task of learning the budget as "a sip of water out of a fire hose."

At-large committee member Bob Meadows said he'd like to include county residents' total personal income among the trends the committee will consider, so that county spending doesn't outpace residents' income.

The committee will meet again Thursday and will dig into logistical details, such as when and how often they will meet.

Committee members include John Ahl, Rob Gelder, Steven Maxim and Paul Uhlig from North Kitsap, while John Bresnahan, Monica Hunsaker, Jim Sommerhauser and Chris Tibbs represent Central Kitsap. Nelson, Vee-Jay Brann, Shannon Childs and Ron Rada are from South Kitsap, while Meadows is the lone at-large resident.


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Comments » 10

unlisted#224561 writes:

Citizens committee? Nice try. Two of the commissioners have appointed enough liberals to ensure the outcome will favor more calls for increased taxes and fees to cover increased spending.

Meanwhile, salaries and contracts for services will be minimized despite their importance in any private or public sector operational budget.

If and when the day comes to observe a commission majority that "gets back to REAL basics" (law and justice, public works, and planning), gives a pass to all the social agenda programs, and quits trying to find jobs for political hacks who can't find employment in the private sector, then perhaps we will have an efficient government. Until then, we will continue to get lip service via the media.

dahl#245857 writes:

Right On!!!

Cynic writes:

So the clearly incompetent Board of Commissioners appoints a group of thier friends to provide cover for thier self inflicted budget mess. Typical liberal politics.

janebedinger writes:

Did any of you actually get off your bottoms and VOLUNTEER TO HELP?

All these people did. In fact most of these "liberals" have outstanding records of public service. Do you?

I belong to several advisory councils and committees. Do you? It's easy to find volunteer opportunities. Just look at the Kitsap County home page.

Maybe if you got involved, you could make a difference.

janebedinger writes:

I think "Josh and Steve" pay more attention to people who actually WORK on the problems than simply jaw about them. That's true for Jan Angel too. She's always looking for people to volunteer. Why don't you contact her and see if she can help you find a place where you can put your opinions into practice?

If you want changes in Kitsap, you've going to have to do more than simply type a few opinions. If the "liberals" are willing to do more work in local government, they're probably going to have more influence.

Jason1 writes:

If someone can enlighgten me what does this statement by Bob represent? "At-large committee member Bob Meadows said he'd like to include county residents' total personal income"

Bob_Meadows writes:

Jason1--The trends for revenue and spending need to be close to the same, or the county runs out of money. On the other hand, neither spending nor revenue should increase over the long term faster than the total personal income of all the people who pay taxes.

When revenue and spending rise faster than total personal income, a greater portion of taxpayers' income is taken by government. That may be OK for a while or for specific purposes, but not for the long term.

For the government to "live within its means," it has to live within our means. Simply matching revenue to spending wouldn't necessarily keep tax increases from taking ever greater portions of our income -- and leaving us with a lot less for our personal needs and wants.

Jason1 writes:


Thanks for the clarification. But my total personal income is not relevant when it comes to the county planning its budget. The county receives money from me based on my property tax (fixed per the county appraisal) as well as the various sales taxes (set by law but I can control what I buy). Those items can be trended and budgets projected accordingly. The real issue is our county has California dreams on an Appalachian budget reality. Please focus your teams efforts to what is required by law and not programs or services that "would be nice".

Bob_Meadows writes:

Jason1--You are misunderstanding my use of the term "total personal income." It is the total of everyone's income, not any one individual.

There are always some individuals who have a hard time carrying their tax burden -- and others who hardly notice their own burden.

When tax revenues rise faster than the entire group's income, almost everyone feels the pinch -- and a backlash is likely. Take for example, the rise in total property tax revenue from 1980 to the mid-90s. Revenue tripled while income doubled, leading to a backlash starting in the late 90s.

When almost everyone feels the pinch, it's not good.

You seem to think the idea of holding revenue growth in the long term to no more than the increase in total personal income makes it likely that spending would rise more than is required.

That may be true, if total personal income rises rapidly.

But, my concern is for the fact that spending and taxes have at times risen faster than total personal income, and they ought not to under ordinary circumstances.

I see the concept as a limit, but you seem to see it as giving free rein to spending.

I also see the concept as one of the things that we ought to be considering in deciding how much is enough and what government ought to do. You seem to think it is my only such limiting concept.

janebedinger writes:

I never went on a rant about how wonderful Josh Brwon was!

You're dodging the issue, aren't you -- that you HAVE NOT volunteered.

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