More people who used a Thurston County budget simulation tool supported fulfilling budget requests, rather than rejecting them, for public works, employee raises, law enforcement and more.
The county launched the tool three weeks ago to solicit public feedback on which General Fund budget requests the Board of County Commissioners should approve, since it has a $4 million surplus.
Results from the tool informed the board's deliberations during budget meetings last week, as the board prepared to finalize its midterm budget adjustment for 2023, the second year in its biennial budget.
Though many requests received public support, the hard part was balancing the budget, said senior budget analyst Jennifer Smith during an Oct. 24 meeting.
"You hear a lot from people, 'If I were in charge, I would do this,'" Smith said. "And then when they actually have to see what it is they are trading off, it's not as easy as they think it would be."
In all, 159 people submitted budgets via the tool as of the Oct. 21 deadline, according to county documents. However, the tool received 923 page views and the average user spent more than 11 minutes on the site.
Over 300,000 people live in Thurston County, according to the Washington state Office of Financial Management. Despite the relatively low participation, Smith said she felt encouraged by the feedback the tool prompted.
"I think my biggest takeaway is that people are truly interested in what we're doing and it's not always complaints," Smith said. "They do want to be involved and they do want to provide input."
Requests for the General Fund exceeded the current budget by $8 million, Assistant County Manager Robin Campbell previously told The Olympian. The 2023 budget was set at $121.4 million, but she said the requested budget is $129.4 million.
Final budget decisions will be made in December after a public comment period, Campbell said.
The simulation tool categorized requests in six areas: economic vitality, general government, health and human services, internal services, law and justice, and legislative.
The tool was limited to General Fund requests, meaning participants couldn't see requests for public works utilities, public health and social services.
Raises for staff, deputies
The largest request participants could share feedback on was a nearly $5 million request from human resources.
This request would cover a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment for all staff except Sheriff and Correction deputies, a 4% cost-of-living adjustment for Sheriff's Office correction deputies, and a 4.1% cost-of-living adjustment for sheriff deputies.
Among other items, the request also included a one-time bonus totaling $374,500 for sheriff deputies to encourage retention.
Notably, nearly 75 submissions supported the 2.5% cost cost-of-living adjustment for all staff except sheriff and correction deputies.
But just under 50 supported the 4% cost-of-living adjustment for correction deputies. Around 40 supported the 4.1% cost-of-living adjustment for sheriff deputies. And just 30 submissions supported the bonus for sheriff deputies.
Just over 25 respondents called for the commission to not fund any of these human resources requests.
Some commenters, who were not named in county documentation, indicated they did not support the raises for sheriff deputies. One person criticized deputies for their performance, and another said they did not deserve a larger percentage raise than other staff.
Yet, one commenter supported the Sheriff's Office, saying they needed more resources to hire more deputies and patrol more areas.
Public works
In the economic vitality category, the Public Works Department requested $507,744, most of which — $337,744 — would go toward two additional full-time positions to maintain parks and trails.
Over 75 submissions supported funding the two positions for parks and trails, according to the county. Smith said funding for these positions would include costs to set them up with necessary equipment and tools.
The rest of the public works request involved covering costs associated with Lake Management Districts, including providing $165,000 for the initial development and operations of a Pattison Lake LMD.
Less than 50 respondents supported the county footing that initial cost for the Pattison Lake LMD and fewer than 25 opted not to fund any public works requests.
Law and justice
In the law and justice category, the Sheriff's Office requested $535,822 for law enforcement and $262,142 to cover medical services at the county jail.
Among other items, the law enforcement request included $488,576 to add two additional deputies. That amount included salaries, benefits, supplies, services and equipment costs, Smith previously said.
About 80 submissions favored funding the request for two additional deputies, according to the county. And just under 25 disapproved of funding any law enforcement request.
A couple of the commenters balked at the amount for adding two deputies, saying it was too high. However, two other commenters expressed support for expanding the law enforcement budget.
The request for medical services at the county jail had over 75 supporters. One commenter said inmates should receive proper medical care regardless of the reasons they are in jail.
Additionally, Public Defense requested $199,790 to add three additional full-time equivalent positions.
Two of these positions would be a new defense attorney and a legal assistant to help indigent clients involuntarily detained in Thurston County. The remaining position would be for a technician to administer a case management system.
About 60 submissions supported funding the attorney and legal assistant. And over 50 people supported fulfilling the request for the technician.
Fewer than 25 called for the county to not fund any of Public Defense's requests.
