View Full Version : Impacts on you of state budget woes
Ismitje
25 May 2009, 12:39 AM
Anyone impacted particularly directly by the state budget "meltdown," for lack of a better word? I am not impacted directly, but since my hometown (Pullman) is a university town, there'll be plenty indirect impact as the 400+ folks laid off from WSU - and far fewer students living here - will majorly impact our local economy.
These are tough times indeed.
edwardgr
25 May 2009, 07:40 PM
Not so far. I have a federal job, and my wife is county (King). Hers would be the most imperiled but receives no general funds funding to begin with, all part of the Water Sewer Garbage rates. So unless people stop being people (eating, drinking, etc....) her job should be safe as well. Will be directly affected once we start paying for college as the meltdown lead to the enormous rate hikes.
Yoshou
28 May 2009, 07:09 PM
Not so far. I have a federal job, and my wife is county (King). Hers would be the most imperiled but receives no general funds funding to begin with, all part of the Water Sewer Garbage rates. So unless people stop being people (eating, drinking, etc....) her job should be safe as well. Will be directly affected once we start paying for college as the meltdown lead to the enormous rate hikes.
I thought KC had a budget shortfall as well? County gets some money back from property taxes and falling property taxes will hurt the county as well. But then, they are using 2008 values, so probably haven't felt the real pinch of the freefall in property values yet.
edwardgr
29 May 2009, 06:26 PM
King County does have a budget shortfall. However that is for the General Fund, which is the primary fund mechanism for the county. So any county service that is part of the general fund budget is potentially up for cuts.
My wife works for the environmental lab which mostly deals with water quality (swimming beaches, treatment plant, storm drain overflow, those types of things, the budget for the lab has a dedicated revenue stream at this point, and that is from Water, Sewer, and Garbage rates. So unless those stop being used, or unless a change is made to how the lab receives funding, it should be safe.