County Council Approves Supplemental, 2019 Operating Budgets

TACOMA, WA — The Pierce County Council this week unanimously passed two budget proposals affecting investments toward homeless youth and operating expenses for 2019.

Adopted at the council's meetings over the past week were the final 2018 supplemental budget expected to pass through the Pierce County Council — directing more than $275,000 toward missions and endeavors to support homeless youth, courts, and abatement — and the county's $1.08 billion Capital and Operating Budget for 2019.

County officials reportedly allocated $150,000 of the Supplemental Budget and another $75,000 from the 2019 budget for the Blighted Property Maintenance Fund, which — as its name implies — is used in conjunction with Solid Waste funds to clean up blighted properties, according to the county.

Also from the Supplemental Budget, the Coffee Oasis Tacoma Project was awarded $25,000 to create opportunities for homeless youth, and $100,000 was directed toward the Pierce County Law Library to support increased costs and purchase supplies. Additional Supplemental Budget funds were allocated for jury trials.

"Funding projects like Coffee Oasis, where homeless youth will be served and provided with the resources they need, are a must for our community," Pierce County Council Chair Doug Richardson said in a statement. "This supplemental budget reflects the council’s continued commitment to public safety and abatement."

The 2019 budget, which takes effect Jan. 1, covers a wide breadth of investments, which include:

• Funding for one additional lieutenant and one deputy sheriff position;
• $100,000 for a pre-apprenticeship training program operated byWorkforce Central;
• Matching funds to conduct a feasibility study for a new boat ramp at the 11th Street Bridge on the Thea Foss Waterway;
• $116,000 to South Sound 211 to assist with behavioral health navigation services related to the opioid crisis;
• $250,000 for project feasibility and pre-development costs associated with a tiny home residential development in unincorporated Pierce County, pending council approval of planned program expenditures and anticipated outcomes prior to the release of funds;
• $25,000 allocated to a study overseen by the South Sound Manufacturing Industrial Council and Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce, addressing the economic impact of businesses located in the Tacoma Tideflats;
• Additional funds for the Residential Side Sewer program; and
• $52,000 in additional funding to the Safe Streets program.

"Council has been making significant investments into behavioral health, public safety and community programs," Richardson said. "This (operating) budget reflects our sustained commitment to making sure those initiatives are funded and successful."

The county executive was given 10 days to sign the 2019 budget.

For more information on the budget, visit PierceCountyWA.org/2019Budget.

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