King County plays the family jewels strategy.

For those of you who are new to the program manager gamesmanship, one of the ploys that can be used (never liked it myself, considered it too dangerous) is what is known in the trade as the family jewels strategy.

When compelled to take a non-programmatic cut, you can straight line it (rarely a good strategy) cutting everyone by a fixed percentage. That actually makes the employees the happiest. No programs are eliminated, and only the junior (in tenure and wage) people are RIFd. When the next budget improves, you higher some moree junior people and its business as usual.

Or you can do the RIGHT thing and eliminate the non-essential programs. This will involve RIFing more senior people, and these marginal functions will not come back until they can be sneaked back in by special interest groups, even if the financial situation improves.

The family jewels strategy, is leveraged gamesmanship. You threaten to cut what clearly is your most important functions, to spare the functions which dont have high support. The idea is to extort more money, so you dont have to cut as much. Hopefully you wont have to cut anything.

King County is trying the latter strategy. They have fully funded essential services only for the first 6 months. The hope is to motivate all the people whose jobs may be cut, and all the people who may be affected by this cut, to put pressure on the state legislature. It is far easier to convince people to fight for the Police helicopter than it is to get them to fight for 1% for art. Its also far easier to get the legislators to go along with extra money for the police helicopter than it is to go along with extra money for a new outdoor sculpture.

But its a high risk strategy. When you offer up the family jewels, sometimes people just say OK. If thats your least priority item, so be it. Then you either wind up actually giving up these services, or impacting the non-essential services TWICE as bad when you reprogram to support essential services, because you are that much later in the fiscal year.

A dangerous ploy, and if they are stupid enough to do it I hope the REST OF THE STATE recognizes it for the attempted extortion it is, and gives them not one red cent.

From the Seattle Times: http://www.seattletimes.com/news/local/html98/budg_19991123.html

The budget preserves for three to six months the police, public-health and court-arbitration services that faced cuts under Initiative 695. That gives the county time to ask the Legislature to replace some of the $127 million in vehicle-license revenue it's losing. The council also trimmed 100 of the 300 new jobs that Sims wanted to create. It also cut 5 percent from its offices and Sims' office, but declined deeper cuts called for by some suburban Republicans.

Council members made no secret of the fact they want lawyers, police, public-health workers and others affected by the budget cuts to help lobby the state for assistance. But hard-liners said that's unconscionable and won't work in Olympia. Instead, they tried unsuccessfully to slash overhead and use the savings to fully fund police and public health through the year.

-- Craig Carson (craigcar@crosswinds.net), November 23, 1999

Answers

Yeah, the PI and Eastside papers are saying the same thing:http://www.seattle-pi.com/local/arb23.shtml http://www.eastsidejournal.com/Newsdocs/other/rcm70218.html

Sims didn't restore the sheriff's funding for 12 months because ``to save one, you would have to cut from others,'' said Kraft, who warned that I-695 will cut even deeper into the county's budget in 2001.

The council assembled the budget after an hours-long, often heated debate. Councilman Dwight Pelz, D-Seattle, angrily referred to Tim Eyman, I-695's sponsor, as a "self-aggrandizing punk" enamored with his own power.

Councilman Rob McKenna, R-Bellevue, was one of several fiscal conservatives who failed repeatedly to win cuts in administrative overhead, arts programs and other spending instead of health and public safety. He warned that the Legislature won't be fooled by the county using "our cops, kids and immunization funding as human shields" to try to get more state money.

-- Mark Stilson (mark842@hotmail.com), November 23, 1999.

Hell hath no fury like a bureaucrat scorned. -- Milton Friedman

-- (zowie@hotmail.com), November 23, 1999.

Hell hath no fury for an organized group to show up at some of these meetings, anyone game?

This neo-fascist crap has got to stop... did anyone read that seattle times article?

-- Paul Oss (jnaut@earthlink.net), November 23, 1999.

Essential Services:

Just a comment on what is or is not "essential". I have noted before that most of current government services would not be considered "essential" in a third world country. We are well beyond the basics in all areas and have been for about 100 years, so the debate is not between what is essential and what is non-essential. It is a question of which of the non-essentials is most important at this time and in this budget.

Local governments are not choosing between police services and the parks budget. They are choosing between a marginal reduction of both budgets, and a more significant reduction from one; and none of what would be cut can properly be considered "essential". They are subjective judgements about the relative value of the programs and personnel. It may be that the parks programs would keep some of the youth out of trouble with the police.

I am not advocating cuts in the police budget. I am simply stating that reference to "essential" services does not help much in evaluating the choices that are before the elected officials.

-- dbvz (dbvz@wa.freei.net), November 24, 1999.

From the Metro King County website: http://www.metrokc.gov/mkcc/news/9911/Budget_%20misses_opps.htm

November 23, 1999

County council misses opportunities to restore public health, public safety funding, say Vance and McKenna

The Metropolitan King County Council ignored millions of dollars in efficiencies and other cuts identified by budget panels over the past several weeks, and failed to prioritize vital public services in the 2000 King County budget. That message was delivered today by Councilmembers Chris Vance and Rob McKenna following final passage of the 2000 King County budget.

The council adopted the budget by a vote of 11 to 2. Vance and McKenna voted against the final budget.

"This council obviously doesnt get it," said Vance. "Despite the hole created by Initiative 695, we could have restored cuts to public health and safety without raising property taxes. I-695 forced us to perform a new song and dance, but we ended up with the same old routine  higher property taxes and fees, yet reduced police and community health services."

In an effort to meet the challenges presented by the loss of Motor Vehicle Excise Tax (MVET) revenue, the council funded several programs in the sheriffs department -- such as marine patrol and the Guardian One helicopter -- for just six months. A number of public health programs and services, including primary health services at county community health clinics, were given just three months funding. The council intends to lobby the state for the remainder of the funding.

"This budget essentially uses cops and public health clinics as human shields for our Olympia lobbyists," added McKenna. "The MVET cuts to our criminal justice funding amounts to just 1 percent of this countys general fund. This council could have restored full public safety and health funding, but a majority of the council chose not to."

Vance and McKenna proposed several cuts and efficiencies that were not accepted by the full council, including:

Rolling back the entire council and executive office budgets to 1997 levels; Returning overhead expenditures (e.g., travel, consulting contracts, advertising) to 1997 levels for all other general county agencies, saving over $3.5 million; Reducing an executive-proposed expanded manager training program by $300,000; Eliminating a $246,000 council increase in the countys sustained support art program. The council approved an increase in the arts budget that goes beyond the executives 7 percent jump, which was added in the 2000 budget; Cutting about $700,000 from the Department of Development and Environmental Services by eliminating several unneeded planner positions; Eliminating a million dollars for new personal computers for county agencies; and, Rejecting a proposal to subsidize childcare worker wages through a program that the Seattle Times characterized as "feel good pork."

-- Craig Carson (craigcar@crosswinds.net), November 24, 1999.

d- RE:"I am not advocating cuts in the police budget. I am simply stating that reference to "essential" services does not help much in evaluating the choices that are before the elected officials. "

"Added McKenna, "We will now have to beg the legislature to fund essential services like public safety because we decided to spend taxpayer money on increased travel, consultants and advertising. I dont know how we can vote for these priorities and keep a straight face when we go to Olympia."" http://www.metrokc.gov/mkcc/news/9911/Budget_%20misses_opps.htm

If the city council members can use the term essential services to describe public safety, why can't we? Granted, it's shorthand, but compared to the clearly non-essential services that are still in the budget, it's useful shorthand.

-- Craig Carson (craigcar@crosswinds.net), November 24, 1999.

IMHO politicians are being deceptive and manipulative, when they use that "shorthand"; and it is useful to them in framing a false issue. It is a free country, however; and my comment was my way of keeping the issues straight. Use whatever language you want, as long as the webmaster is happy with it.

-- dbvz (dbvz@wa.freei.net), November 24, 1999.

I will go a step further. I will say that many of the 'services' which we consider 'essential' wouldn't be considered essential in a civilized nation. A nation that could run its government without the use of force, coercion and conscription of labor by unfunded mandates. Do I completely blame government for government? No. Not at all. I blame the electorate for acting like sheep for decades while their government ran rough-shot over them.

I blame people who say things like "Is a hungry man really free?". We allowed the government to play word games with our liberty, starting many, many years ago. Freedom in no way encompasses freedom from worry, or anxiety. Freedom means freedom from the coercion of government, and your neighbor.

Yes, it's unfortunate that we are so lacking in vision that we believe that it's just a simple fact that monies have to be extorted from the citizens of this country to fund infrastructure and services. This is not something that's going to be turned around quickly. And frankly, at the rate we're going, it'll never be turned around, let alone slowed down. We can't even get the tinies concession from government to cut or taxes, or give us (the electorate) ANY say whatsoever in our level of taxation.

Oh, and for ever 695 supporter who keeps screaming socialsim: Although I know you mean well, lemme hit you with this: Fascism:

1.Often Fascism a.A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.

"...stringent socioeconomic controls..." Now. I won't go into the 'opposition through terror and censorship' comparison, but I will say that our government is dealing with the opposition with a good dose of fearmongering and vilification. The point of this comparison to fascism, though, is not the means so much as the economic system as defined by fascism. Fascism as an economic system simply controls the results of production, without nationalizing the means of production. I'm sure we've heard from our politicians, when being accused of socialim, saying "Oh no, no no, we don't want to nationalize, or take over business, we just want to make sure they do their part". Code words for a form of neo-fascism. Benito Mussolini created fascism for one thing: "The elimination of class struggle." His plan was to leave industry in private hands, but regulate and control the results and profits from production, and redistribute the wealth that way.

So, for those of you, and those people in government who accuse those of us who wish to REDUCE the size of government, as right-wingers, I'd take a closer look at your history books. Reductions in government in no way can logically be tied to fascism.

-- Paul Oss (jnaut@earthlink.net), November 24, 1999.

"IMHO politicians are being deceptive and manipulative, when they use that "shorthand"; and it is useful to them in framing a false issue" And they are NOT being deceptive and manipulative when they place the issues like police and public health BEHIND an EXPANSION of public art revenues, while crying to the state that they can't fund the former for more than three to six months??? Why do you condemn the one, when you won't condemn the other?

-- Craig Carson (craigcar@crosswinds.net), November 24, 1999.

Craig:

I have not loked into the budget plans of King County in great detail, but if they are making the choice to value an INCREASE in the arts budget over MAINTAINING police service, I would agree that is manipulative and deceptive. That was not what I was commenting on.

My point is simply that an INCREASE in the police budget may not be valued as highly as MAINTAINING the parks budget. Both are non-essential, and the relative importance is a subjective judgement. My judgement on specific choices available will be different from yours, and from those of Ron Sims.

The political process leads to answers that are differing shades of grey, not black or white. If it were clearly right or wrong, even a dumb politician could select the right choice most of the time.

-- dbvz (dbvz@wa.freei.net), November 24, 1999.

"If it were clearly right or wrong, even a dumb politician could select the right choice most of the time." How about a senior government official repeatedly calling an intern to the White House to use her for sexual purposes, gray area, right, or wro

-- Craig Carson (craigcar@crosswinds.net), November 26, 1999.

Craig:

Dumb politician, black or white, and he got it wrong. That was not a political process, but a moral choice.

-- dbvz (dbvz@wa.freei.net), November 26, 1999.

Can't help but wonder if the Metro King County people are reconsidering the relative merits of police and public safety funding versus funding to support things like bringing the WTO to Seattle. Hope whoever thought this was a bright idea is picking up the tab for the police overtime.

-- (zowie@hotmail.com), November 30, 1999.

I note with amusement, that Clinton indicated he sympathizes with the protesters this morning. Meanwhile, it's call out the National Guard in Seattle

National Guard ordered to Seattle to help control WTO protests

November 30, 1999 Web posted at: 9:09 p.m. EST (0209 GMT)

SEATTLE (CNN) -- Washington Governor Gary Locke said Tuesday he is calling in units of the state's National Guard to keep help keep a lid on anti-World Trade Organization protests that turned violent. Police from cities as far away as Spokane also are being sent to help.

Seattle Mayor Paul Schell has declared a state of civil emergency and said a curfew would be imposed on downtown areas of the city after violent scenes during street protests scuttled the planned opening ceremonies of the conference.

The curfew will be in force from 7 p.m. (10 p.m. EST) until sunrise. Police said violators -- anybody that does not have "legitimate business" in the downtown area where the WTO conference got under way behind schedule Tuesday -- will be immediately arrested.

-- Mark Stilson (mark842@hotmail.com), November 30, 1999.