We Called It

In last week’s brief on Council’s proposed budget adds, we wrote that historically Chair Strauss pulled money out of the JumpStart Fund to cover General Fund increases.

And here we are. His Chair’s Package increases spending by about $75M (in a year with a projected $175M General Fund deficit) and relies on $42.1M in JumpStart funding, including $19.1M in skipped future deposits to the JumpStart Rate Stabilization Account.

The other $23M is live JumpStart money: an additional $10M identified in the October forecast and an off-cycle payroll-tax payment of $13M.

Remember, class: the JumpStart Fund is a big pot of money that sits outside the regular General Fund, created to tax large businesses for affordable housing, economic development, EDI, and Green New Deal spending. So when we have a deficit on paper because the General Fund’s in the red, the JSF can serve as a piggy bank for pretty much anything.

And the Chair needs it because this year’s adds are pretty staggering. A few are necessities, like the $14M for fire fighter overtime. But many are brand-new nice-to-haves, like a paid position parked at Sound Transit to serve as a liaison to the Leg. Dept. And it’s not only his colleagues Chair Strauss would have to deny: 36 of the 77 items in his package list himself as a sponsor or co-sponsor, worth about $42M (see Key Stats in this week’s brief).

But wait, there’s more. The package also cuts $22M from the Firefighters’ Pension Fund Rate Stabilization Reserve over the biennium. Strauss reverses the Mayor’s firefighter-overtime cut with one hand and pulls from the firefighters’ pension reserve with the other.

The deeper problem isn’t any single raid. About two-thirds of the package are “one-time” expenditures which often turn into ongoing programs. But that’s okay because those are Council appropriations and the Executive doesn’t have to spend the money. So it can sit around as an underspend in departmental budgets until it’s carried forward by Council into the following year’s budget that the Mayor can target for new priorities.

But we digress. Apologies for cynicism and have a great week! Chair’s Balancing Package Items in Chair’s Balancing Package Inf 3021 - Chair’s Balancing Package