Guest blogger, Kelly Rider of the Housing Development Consortium, discusses the benefits of the Veterans and Human Services Levy to our community.

On or around July 29^th, you will receive your 2011 Primary Ballot in your mail. That’s just one week away, and the renewal of the King County Veterans & Human Services Levy is Proposition 1 on that ballot.  

The current Veterans & Human Services Levy was passed by nearly 58% of the voters in 2005, but it is set to expire at the…

Thanks to the combined advocacy of our United Way constituents nd partner organizations, United Way of King County was able to achieve many of its legislative asks even in one of the most challenging economic years on record.  Below is a summary of the outcomes of our main advocacy efforts for FY 2011-2013.

 2011-2013 Budget Outcomes

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This blog was prepared by Nick Federici, contract lobbyist for United Way of King County.

The 2011 Legislative Session was the most challenging I’ve experienced in my 18 years working in Olympia, resulting in 135 intense days of Regular and Special Sessions, due to the combination of many factors: 

Budgetary Circumstances

The Great Recession’s impact on the economic growth of Washington, as with the rest of the nation, has taken the same kind of toll on the state’s budget as well.  The 2010 Legislature cut…

The State budget passed by the Washington State Legislature (and not yet approved by the Governor) has moderate to severe reductions in health and human services funding for low income King County residents particularly those who are not eligible for Medicaid funding.  These cuts in prevention and intervention services will likely result in more people using emergency rooms, becoming homeless and incarcerated.

Basic Needs and Housing:

Disability Lifeline – Eliminates Disability Lifeline Program effective October 1 and creates three new programs Aged, Blind, and Disabled…

The April revenue reports are in and the picture is not rosy.  Public officials were hoping that the slight increase seen in the last revenue forecast would continue, but those hopes were dashed when Arun Raha, the state’s economist, announced that the April revenue level was 1.8% below the previous month (when the unanticipated revenue from collection of back taxes is excluded from the calculation). 

With thoughts of unanticipated revenue from existing revenue sources out of the picture, several other issues are holding…

This blog was prepared by Sherry Hamilton, Communications Manager, Office of the Director, King County Dept. of Community and Human Services

The House and Senate budgets both cut mental health and substance abuse funding by less than the governor’s budget proposal, but the reductions are still significant – particularly as they come on top of cuts made in the last two legislative sessions. There are differences between the House and Senate budgets, and the House budget is the preferred alternative.

The House budget cuts an involuntary…

Even though the House and Senate are $300 million apart in spending levels, they are much farther apart programmatically.  The first week of special session has yet to see a proposal that would bridge either divide and most of the House members have left for the week, with the House budget negotiators remaining in Olympia to attempt to bridge the differences with the Senate.  For its part, the Senate has been meeting regularly to re-pass a handful of bills in committee and on the floor that…

This blog was written by Naomi Goodman, Senior Policy Analyst at Seattle Housing Authority

At the Federal Level

Congress passed the 2011 budget a few weeks back, ensuring some stability for housing and homeless providers for the remainder of the federal fiscal year, ending September 30. However, this year’s budget made significant cuts to affordable housing programs and laid the ground work for additional cuts in 2012. Local providers are struggling to comprehend how cuts will affect the communities they serve. The federal budget calls…

Guest blogger: Pamela Piering, Director, Aging and Disability Services, Seattle Human Services Department

The House and Senate proposed budgets are consistent in their areas of cuts to aging services.  For the most part, these changes have been anticipated by aging advocates, although vigorous lobbying for seniors in recent weeks is encouraging a more balanced approach to look at both revenues and cuts.   Here is a quick overview of the similarities and differences of the two budgets with respect to older adults:

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With the 105 day regular session scheduled to end this Sunday, April 24, resolution of differences in revenue approaches and support for key programs will undoubtedly mean a special session.  The Governor will decide later this week when the special session should begin; she will certainly want a clear agenda with a focus on key issues before she calls legislators back to Olympia.  Options include calling lawmakers back immediately after the regular session adjourns, or waiting a while to allow leadership in both houses to come…