March 31, 2009

“Any time reductions have to occur, it’s always painful,” said Parlette. “These budgets will be especially hard on citizens for years to come because they postpone tough policy decisions the Legislature should be making now. Both budgets rely heavily on one-time federal funds and money transfers to pay for ongoing spending, which makes them unsustainable. Plugging the funding holes in ongoing spending programs with one-time money means we’ll be back here in two years making the difficult choices that should be made today.” 

State government expects revenues over the next two fiscal years will be virtually identical to the two years ending June 30. The proposed Senate budget relies on $5 billion in one-time monies, including $3 billion in federal stimulus funds, $449 million from the rainy-day fund, a $743 million shift from the capital budget (a fund dedicated to building government capital projects statewide), and other money transfers. The House budget relies on similar amounts of one-time monies.  

“There has to be a time when Washington state learns to live within its means,” said Parlette. “I was hoping it would be this year. If we don’t face the music now and make the kinds of fundamental changes needed to get us through this recession, we’ll just have to do it when we write the next budget.” 

Parlette invites citizens interested in learning more about the budget and other issues related to the Legislature to participate in the 12th District telephone town hall she and Rep. Cary Condotta will hold on Tuesday, April 7 from 7 to 8 p.m.  

Residents can call in and participate in this community dialogue from the comfort of their own homes by dialing 1-877-229-8493 and entering PIN # 13569. The call begins at approximately 7 p.m. and lasts for one hour. 

“The timing for our telephone town hall will be great,” said Parlette. “I am looking forward to hearing from folks about their thoughts on the budget and other issues of importance. Getting citizens’ input at this critical time will help me better serve them. I hope everyone will take advantage of this opportunity to share their thoughts with us.”