Snohomish County council president hopes budget cuts don’t hit sheriff’s department

Snohomish County is looking at a potential 10% cut to its general fund in 2021 and Executive Dave Somers said that could mean hundreds of county employees could lose their jobs.

County Council President Nate Nehring told KTTH’s Jason Rantz that they’re just not getting the sales tax due to the coronavirus pandemic’s effect on the local economy. The county is already under a hiring freeze and has furloughed employees. It’s also delayed and canceled some capital projects.

Nehring said they’re also considering a reduction in nonessential aspects of the budget, such as travel, some staff training, more capital projects, and new programs.

“It could potentially result in layoffs, as well,” Nehring said.

While Somers said no department is immune, Nehring said he hopes that doesn’t include the public safety sector. Specifically, the sheriff’s department.

“My hope and my goal is that no sheriffs deputies are laid off in a budget that the council passes,” he said.

Executive Somers is expected to deliver a proposed budget next month. Five council members will vote to approve that budget.

Nehring said under normal circumstances, when you’re facing a budget shortfall, residents and government recognize that public safety is the top priority. But it doesn’t help when activists are calling for defunding or abolishing the police.

“And you’ve got actions taken like what we’ve seen with the Seattle City Council, but it does lend some credibility to these sorts of proposals,” Nehring. “I think we need to do everything we can to fight against that and to maintain public safety as a top priority.”

The county council already slashed the 2020 budget by 3.5% across all departments and Nehring said, despite that, they were able to make cuts to the sheriff’s department without cutting staff.

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