Legislative Bulletin Bill Room (360) 786-7573 Legislative Hot Line 1-800-562-6000 February 25, 2000 http://www.wacounties.org Bulletin #7 Washington Counties Scholarships!!! Five $1500 scholarships will be awarded to children of county employees! Apply now! Deadline: April 3, 2000, Call WACO or WSAC for information. ************************************** HOUSE DEMOCRATS OFFER INCREASED FUNDING FOR MVET LOSS The House Democrats came out with their version of the supplemental budget after the House Republicans released theirs last week. Public health would be funded from the Health Services Account on an on-going basis in the amount of $33.2 million. There would be a lump sum of $40.8 million for loss of sales tax equalization and criminal justice. In addition there would be an additional $10.6 million for other county criminal justice costs such as Becca and indigent defense for dependency hearings. The cities would receive $32.1 million, the same as the Governor proposed. Transit would receive $80 million plus $50 million to replace the transit liability, all one-time. Finally, $27 million would be provided to ferries for operation and capital costs. A comparison of the three proposed budgets is attached at the end of this Legislative Bulletin. The Senate is now the only proposed budget that has not been made public. They will allow an appropriate time, probably March 1st or 2nd and then present their proposal. This is the most likely scenario since the House is approaching meltdown after a contentious State Government hearing yesterday in which the Democrats and Republicans exploded over the civil service reform legislation. The stage was set when the Democrats tried to pull the bill in committee after Representative Tom Campbell, a Republican, said he would vote for the bill and with the Democrats. At that point the Republicans objected citing House rules require both chairs to agree to pull a bill. This resulted in shouting by several Republican members and recriminations for passage of the budget last year, when two of their members crossed over to vote for the Senate Democratic budget. It is that time of the session when feelings are wearing thin. All of this leads you to conclude that there is little chance of agreement in the House on a budget and that the Senate will be the most likely budget considered. ************************************** LEOFF 1 MEDICAL STILL IN APPROPRIATIONS, SB 6792 SB 6792 is still held up in House Appropriations and is not yet scheduled for a hearing. This bill would eliminate the employer and employee retirement contributions providing a saving of 6% of the LEOFF 1 payroll. More importantly it directs a study of the long-term care costs for LEOFF 1 officers and sets a target of $50 million from surplus funds. You are urged to call members of House Appropriations and ask them to support the bill. ************************************** CUTOFFS Friday (2-25) was the cutoff for bills to be heard by committees in the opposite House, except those in House fiscal committees, Senate Ways and Means, and Transportation Committees, which have until Monday, February 28. With adjournment set for March 9, opposite house bills must pass by March 3. The last week will be spent on initiatives, amendments, and differences between the houses. ************************************** PROPERTY TAX ADVISORY - DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE (DOR) I-695/CLARIFICATION Attached to this mailing is a copy of a Property Tax Advisory issued by DOR. This advisory deals with questions on how I-695 affects future property tax levies. The first question is whether the road levy shift requires a public vote. The answer given by DOR is that it does. The second question deals with a taxing district that lowers its levy rate in a "buy-down" and then later wants to raise the levy back to where it was. Does that increase back to the previous level require a vote? DOR's answer is, "Probably not." Probably the most significant question asked is whether taxing districts will be allowed to increase their levies as is currently allowed for new construction without a vote by the public. The answer to that question is, "yes." Please review the attached sheet because it gives some analysis and rational reasons for their decisions. Keep in mind that, even though these are the DOR's opinions, based upon a review by their attorney generals, etc., that does not mean that the courts would rule the same if any of these questions were to placed before them. However, this is the best information we have for now. ************************************** PROPERTY TAXES Next Monday afternoon at 1:30 p.m., the House Finance Committee will hear four property tax bills. The most important is SSB 6115, which reinstates the exemption from property tax for motor vehicles, travel trailers and campers. This measure includes the language to ensure that park model mobile homes will remain on the tax rolls. Also scheduled for the hearing is SB 6157, which lowers the population threshold for cities that are eligible for the 10-year property tax exemption program for multi-unit housing, from 100,000 to 50,000. The third bill scheduled for hearing is ESB 6250, granting sales tax credits and property tax exemptions for equipment used to reduce agricultural burning. This bill has limited applications but is a significant measure for the Tri-Cities area. SSB 6724 deals with the Hanford cleanup and provides that the companies which are being set up to process the hazardous waste will pay property taxes for a six-year period and then will be exempt from property taxes. We understand that this is an acceptable compromise for Benton County officials. Assessors who have legislators who serve on the House Finance Committee should e-mail or call them to encourage prompt action on SSB 6115. Remind them that this bill must pass before the end of the session or you will be required to start sending personal property affidavits to all automobile owners in your respective counties! Emphasize that you have held back from taking this action waiting for the legislature to reinstate the exemption and wanted to be sure that they understood the importance of this bill not getting lost in the last few days of the session. ************************************** TRANSPORTATION ************************************** NEW TRANSPORTATION FUNDING BILL TAKES SHAPE The Senate Transportation Committee heard overwhelmingly supportive testimony on Thursday for a newly introduced bill that pulls together several transportation funding mechanisms that had been previously discussed as separate bills. Counties, cities and transit agencies all spoke in favor of the bill. Among other elements, SB 6856 lifts the lid on the local-option sales tax for transit from six-tenths of a cent to nine-tenths of a cent and provides for leaseback arrangements for regional transit authorities. In addition, due to the repeal of the transportation fund, the bill creates the "multimodal fund" for the deposit of car rental tax revenues. Initially the bill raided $1.2 million in county and city funds from the impaired driving safety account to fund a new traffic safety commission account, but a substitute bill restores the local funds. The impaired driving safety account was established in 1998 to help local governments pay for new DUI laws. ************************************** HOUSE DEMOCRATS PROPOSE $27 MILLION TO KEEP FERRIES AFLOAT The House Democrats' proposed budget, unveiled Thursday, includes $27 million to fund auto and passenger-only ferries through 2001. The money comes from the state's emergency reserve account and includes $10 million to cover operating costs and $17 million for capital and terminal improvements. In contrast, House Republicans last week proposed $100 million to support for ferry operations over five years. The GOP funding comes from revenues raised by the sales tax on motor vehicle related transactions, including sale of new and used vehicles, parts and maintenance services. Passage of Initiative 695 eliminated $52 million in annual ferry operating funds and more than $200 million from the ferry system construction budget. ************************************** TRANSIT DOLLARS IN BOTH BUDGET PROPOSALS Both the House Democrats and Republicans, in their respective proposed budgets, include one-time funding for local transit. Both provide for $50 million to cover existing state liabilities owed to local transit districts. In addition, the Democrats provide $80 million and the Republicans provide $50 million to support current operations. Passage of Initiative 695 is causing transit agencies to lose more than $220 million a year in MVET funds. Neither budget provides for additional local-option sales taxes for transit; however, separate bills would lift the lid on the local transit taxes. (See SB 6856 above.) ************************************** ENVIRONMENT, LAND USE & RESOURCES ************************************** CENTRAL PUGET SOUND SALMON RECOVERY PROPOSAL AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties have been working with National Marine Fisheries (NMFS) Service over the last year to develop a proposal for salmon recovery within the Tri-County region that also will gain 4(d) protection from NMFS. The draft Tri-County 4(d) Framework is now available from the Salmon Information Center. You can download a copy of the framework and other related materials from the Center's website (http:\\www.salmoninfo.org) or call the Center (877-SALMON-9) to have a copy mailed. NMFS is expected to publish a completed draft Tri-County Salmon Recovery Proposal in the Federal Register by late April. NMFS will request comments on the draft Proposal during a 30-day comment period subsequent to that publication. Tri-County public outreach staff are working to complete several pieces that will help explain the draft Framework and the approval process: an executive summary of the Framework; question and answer sheet regarding the draft 4(d) rule and the Tri-County Framework; and several graphics pieces on the management zone, the relationship between NMFS' draft 4(d) rule and the Framework, and a timeline of when the actions in the Framework would be implemented. This information will be available on the Salmon Information Center's website: www.salmoninfo.org and will be distributed to a wide range of audiences. ************************************** GMA AND LAND USE BILLS CONTINUE TO DWINDLE GMA amendments to benefit Grays Harbor County (SSB 6643) and the Kitsap County community of Port Gamble (EHB 2561) remain alive in the House and Senate, respectively. But the bill which would have given all GMA counties more time to review and update their comprehensive plans, Senate Bill 6446, died in House Local Government Committee Thursday, burdened by the weight of six proposed amendments. ESB 5816, authorizing short plats up to nine lots within urban growth areas, narrowly escaped from committee on a last minute 6-2 vote. Engrossed Substitute HB 2847 -- which would permanently place in statute the 120-day permit clock that was imposed in 1995 and also eliminate the protection that counties and cities have from suit if that timeline is not met - died in the Senate State and Local Government Committee. Committee members expressed support for a time limit for permit decisions and want to work with counties and cities on permit streamlining over the legislative interim. ************************************** SHORELINE MANAGEMENT ISSUES UP FOR GRABS At this point in the 2000 legislative session, the House Republican budget contains no money for shorelines updates, the House Democratic budget includes the $3.8 million requested by the Governor and there is no legislation alive that revises the 24-month update timeline now in statute. And, the House Democratic budget proposes a $25 million tax credit for counties to acquire development interests in riparian habitat or invest in habitat restoration. With the Department of Ecology continuing to move forward with adoption of new guidelines in July, and an estimated cost of $18.7 million for all counties and cities with shorelines to update their shoreline master programs, there is an obvious disconnect. Or several obvious disconnects: not enough money; not enough planners to develop updates; not enough Ecology staff to review and approve updates in a timely manner. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is now telling the Department of Ecology that the proposed rules do not go far enough in protecting salmon and want tougher rules. On the other hand, the business community believes the proposed rules exceed statutory authority and wants to delay their adoption until the Legislature can review them, in the broad context of ESA response and needs. Suddenly, this week, the Governor's office is talking about delay until December - to give all interested groups, including NMFS, a last opportunity to reach agreement on a rule package. If no agreement is reached by then, Ecology would adopt what it thinks is best. Is this a little bit of a win for all parties or a big bit of a loss for all? New proposals emerge every day on this topic, which is likely to go down to the wire on the last day or two of the legislative session. Stay tuned. ************************************** LAW AND JUSTICE ************************************** HOUSE SPLIT ON BECCA FUNDING, SETTLEMENT While the House Democrats' budget proposal includes $4.7 million to fund a settlement in the Becca lawsuit brought by 20 counties, it does not include any Becca implementation funding. On the other hand, the House Republicans' budget proposal includes $14 million in Becca implementation funds but no money for the settlement. Counties are eagerly awaiting the Senate's budget plan, in hopes it will pull in both settlement and implementation funding to pay for the costs of administering Becca-related truancy and at-risk youth petitions. ************************************** SOME CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROGRAMS FARE WELL IN HOUSE DEMOCRAT BUDGET In addition to providing $40.8 million to backfill for lost criminal justice funding (see article on page 1), House Democrats are proposing several other criminal justice funding boosts for counties. These include: $5.4 million to pay for indigent defense in dependency cases; $1.2 million for drug courts in counties that have exhausted federal grant funding; $1.4 million to reimburse law enforcement training time for agencies with fewer than 10 full-time officers; and $500,000 to pay for extraordinary criminal justice costs submitted by Thurston, Cowlitz and Franklin counties. In contrast, the House GOP proposal does not include any funding for indigent defense or law enforcement training reimbursement, and provides $994,000 for drug courts and $278,000 for extraordinary criminal justice costs for Cowlitz county only. ************************************** DOMESTIC VIOLENCE BILL STILL MOVING The House Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee has passed E2SSB 6400, relating to domestic violence prevention and punishment. The bill makes changes to court-ordered restraint provisions; sets up a new program for domestic violence advocacy, education and service programs; makes it a class C felony to violate a no-contact order if the violation constitutes an assault; and authorizes a $500 fine for each conviction of a domestic violence gross misdemeanor and $250 for each misdemeanor conviction. While the original version of the bill allowed local governments to keep only a small portion of the new fines, the current bill splits the new fines 50 percent to the Public Safety and Education Account (PSEA) and 50 percent to local governments to help pay for the cost of implementing the bill. ************************************** GOVERNOR SIGNS BILL FOR STATEWIDE JAIL BOOKING AND REPORTING SYSTEM Governor Gary Locke has signed HB 2337, which directs the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) to implement and operate a statewide central booking and reporting system by December 31, 2001. Following WASPC implementation, a city or county jail or law enforcement agency must comply with the WASPC system only if the local agency receives state or federal funding to cover the cost of implementing or reconfiguring an electronic jail booking system. WASPC will be seeking federal funding to assist local jails and law enforcement agencies. ************************************** HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES ************************************** CUT-OFF OF BILLS IN OPPOSITE HOUSE COMMITTEES ARRIVES ALONG WITH HOUSE REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRAT BUDGETS In the health and human services arena, the drama continues. House Health Care held no hearings through Thursday and scores of bills are set to die if a hearing is not scheduled Friday, the 26th. The disease was spreading as House Children and Family Services could only agree to pass 4 bills out during their final hearing and several bills of interest to counties died. These include the opiate substitution bill, SB 5019, and the expansion of the substance abuse involuntary treatment act, SB 6749. Even bills sponsored by fellow Republicans from the Senate were dying such as SB 6749. The Senate Health & Long-term Care Committee also limited the number of bills it passed during its final hearing of the year. But they included the long-term care training bill, HB 2510, and a bill that will improve the reimbursement rate for rural hospitals, HB 3016. In the Senate Human Services and Corrections Committee, the atypical anti-psychotic medication bill, HB 2663, was passed out totally revised from the way it came into committee. It is now all about providing atypical meds to mentally ill offenders with DSHS putting together a distribution formula and the Institute for Public Policy at Evergreen doing an evaluation on the effect of the use of these drugs. The Committee also passed out the blended funding bill, HB 2807, but now any projects require community network approval, which is problematical. Progress remains glacial on the individual health insurance market. The Senate may pass out their version of a market bill, SB 6067 on the 26th but that may be too late for the many health care bills stuck in the House Health Care Committee. Both the House Republicans and Democrats have now issued budgets. Of particular note in health and human services is the replacement of local public health funds at a 90% rate or about $33 million. In mental health, developmental disabilities and chemical dependency there is little to report. There is $1 million for an atypical medication pilot, funding for beginning the implementation of the joint mental health/developmental disabilities plan to better treat those persons with DD at the state mental hospitals. This includes money for enhanced crisis services in the RSNs. There is also money in DASA's budget for drug courts to help with the loss of federal funds. Generally it can be said for once that we are not fighting to restore funds in these areas. We await the Senate version next week sometime. For those who want to visit the two House budgets, go to www.leg.wa.gov/house and work your way through the committees to Appropriations. ************************************** CLALLAM AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES HOLD COMMUNITY FORUM ON EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT Nationally recognized author, Robin Karr-Morse was the keynote speaker at a community forum held on February 12 in Port Angeles devoted to examining the root causes of child abuse and neglect and some of the strategies to prevent it. Some 500 people were in attendance. One of the reasons the forum was held here is that in Clallam and Jefferson counties, the juvenile arrest rate is higher than the state average especially in Jefferson County. This statistic is one reason why local law enforcement also supports the forum message. Clallam County Sheriff Joe Hawe is quoted as saying "understanding early childhood development and the role of prevention is critical to law enforcement efforts." In addition to Robin Karr-Morse, author of Ghosts in the Nursery, Dennis Maloney, Director of Deschutes County (Ore.) Community Justice also spoke. Mr. Maloney and Ms. Karr-Morse both were speakers at WSAC last Summer Convention in Chelan. Organizers of the event hope to develop regular small group meetings on juvenile justice issues in both Clallam and Jefferson counties. ************************************** LEGISLATIVE NEWS ************************************** E-911 ADVISORY COMMITTEE BILL SB 6378 passed the Senate with no opposition this week in the House Technology, Telecommunications and Energy Committee. The bill would extend the life of this committee for an additional five years. The committee is to sunset at the end of this year, however, cities, counties and the telephone industry all testified in favor of the bill stating there is still a large amount of work that needs to be finished. The bill should pass out of the committee and continue through the legislative process. Commissioners are urged to call their House members in support of SB 6378. ************************************** LAW ENFORCEMENT STUDY 2SSB 6369, the Senate bill directing the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) to conduct a law enforcement study, was heard by the House Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee this week and passed out to Appropriations. JAIL BOOKING/REPORTING SYSTEM ESHB 2337, the WACO/Sheriffs' priority bill, implementing a statewide city and county jail booking and reporting system, has been signed by Governor Locke and is now Chapter 3, Laws of 2000. WACO BILLS ON THE MOVE HB 2330, the Toxicology Laboratory Funding, was passed out of Senate Ways and Means on Wednesday. Please call your Senators on the Rules Committee and ask them to "pull" HB 2330. HB 2328, Anti-harassment filing fees, and HB 2329, Judgment Summaries, are both in the Senate Rules Committee. Please call your Senators on Rules to request that they "pull" HB 2328 and HB 2329. SB 6154, County clerks and credit cards, should be amended (becoming SSB 6154) and move out of the House Local Government today (2/24) and on to Rules. Clerks are urged to contact their representatives on House Rules and then all representatives to urge their support of SSB 6154. SHB 2392, Local Government joint task force, should move out of the Senate State and Local Government Committee. Calls to Rules Committee members and all Senators are in order. OTHER BILLS OF INTEREST HB 2903, Sound recordings by law enforcement, was heard in Senate Judiciary this week and should move out to Senate Rules by Friday morning. SSB 6244, Extending juvenile court jurisdiction to collect penalties, is being on Friday, Feb. 25, in the House Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee. SHB 2476, Investigating child deaths, is being heard in Senate Judiciary at 6:00 p.m. today. HB 2595, Protection orders, will be heard in Senate Judiciary this evening, and is expected to be amended to include SB 6359, limiting the identifiers entered in JIS to three. 2SSB 6369, Law enforcement study, is in the House Rules Committee. SB 5464, Uniform child custody act, will most likely move out of the House Judiciary Committee by the time this newsletter is received. Yakima County Clerk Kim Eaton has noted that the bill provides that the "registering court" will notify the parties when a foreign custody order is registered and when the matter can be contested. Her concern is that this may prove burdensome to clerks' offices. She has also noted other areas of potential concern. The consensus, since the bill has already been heard in both houses, is that the county clerks should fully discuss all aspects of SB 5464, analyze any impact encountered in a six month period, and address those points in the next legislative session. AUDITOR'S LEGISLATION ESSB 6363, the auditor's absentee/mail ballot bill is scheduled for executive session on February 25 in the House State Government Committee. Island County Auditor Suzanne Sinclair and Snohomish County Auditor Bob Terwilliger testified on ESSB 6363 in the House State Government committee on Wednesday. Bob and Suzanne spoke to the merits of the bill pointing out that a nearly identical bill passed out of the House two years ago. John Pearson, representing the Secretary of State's Office, also testified on the bill. John emphasized that the bill is a result of many people working collaboratively on these issues. It was also pointed out that ESSB 6363 is a WACO priority bill. 2SSJR 8205 was also heard during Wednesday's hearing. This bill provides for a constitutional amendment, to be voted on by the people, and would require a geographic distribution of initiative signatures gathered for placing an initiative measure on the ballot. No one congressional district could have more than one-sixth the total number of signatures required for the measure to be placed on the ballot. SB 6667, which exempts commercial vehicles weighing more than 26,000 lbs. from the requirement of having to replace those plates every seven years was heard in the House Transportation Committee. It appears that SB 6667 merely clarifies language from the bill passed by the legislature in 1997 that exempted these vehicles from the replacement plate requirement. ************************************** COUNTY NEWS ************************************** IDEAS FOR TOPICS AT DISTRICT MEETINGS? CALL WSAC If there are important topics that you think should be raised at the upcoming Western District or Eastern District meetings, call Bill Vogler or Paul Parker at WSAC. The agendas are in development, but some time remains for topics of general interest. ************************************** KING COUNTY OPENS MEETINGS TO PUBLIC VIA INTERNET A new internet website unveiled on February 23, 2000 will be one of the first in the nation to open local government meeting to the public via the internet. The new "e-government" site found at www.metrokc.gov/mkcc/ uses Real Audio to provide sound, which is available to download for free on the site. The new site will provide citizens with online video of various government programs and projects, access to critical information about local government services, and a direct line to county services via the web. The site will also feature e-testimony, which will allow citizens to enter official public testimony via the web on issues such as the county budget and comprehensive growth management plan. A similar site is presently available for state legislative activities, maintained by T.V.W. That site, found at www.tvw.org, contains live and archived footage of testimony presented during committee hearings as well as floor debate of the House and Senate. ************************************** WSAC WESTERN DISTRICT MEETING ************************************** SPRING 2000 WESTERN DISTRICT MEETING WSAC members and affiliates from the nineteen counties of Western Washington will meet at the Best Western Lakeway Inn in Bellingham, April 5-7. This meeting offers an excellent opportunity to gather the information you need to plan for this critical time. There will also be informal networking opportunities such as the Wednesday afternoon Golf Tournament and Thursday evening Sunset Dinner Cruise. Make plans now to attend. The registration fee of $85 includes Thursday and Friday morning Continental Breakfasts, Thursday lunch and Thursday evening dinner cruise. For more information and registration forms, call the WSAC offices at (360) 753-1886. ************************************** MEMBERS CORNER ************************************** (Submitted by Hollis Jamison, Whitman County Commissioner) Dr. V. Lane Rawlins has been appointed to replace Dr. Sam Smith as the next President of Washington State University at Pullman. Dr. Smith has served as President for fifteen years. Regent President Peter Goldmark stated that the Board voted unanimously for the appointment of Dr. Rawlins as Washington State University's ninth President. He assumes the position in July, with his main priorities being, the development of a budgeting process, to strengthen and advertise academic programs, resulting in attracting highly qualified students. Dr. Rawlins hopes in five years to see WSU recognized nationally for its academic programs. He also expects to see growth in graduate and undergraduate programs and has a long-term plan for additional branch campuses. He would like to see WSU win the National Championship in every sport. Dr. Rawlins' salary will be $245,000 per year with a deferred compensation package of $50,000 per year, funded by the WSU Foundation, which will be available when he leaves his position as President. Dr. Rawlins comes to us at the age of sixty-two. He and his wife, Mary Jo, have three children and nine grandchildren. He enjoys writing, golf, traveling and fishing. He has a BA Degree in Economics from Brigham Young University, 1963, and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, 1969. Whitman County is not new territory for Dr. Rawlins. He was a faculty member in the Department of Economics, WSU from 1968 to 1977, (Chair from 1977 to 1982). He served as Vice-Provost at SU from 1981 until 1986. From 1986 until 1991 Dr. Rawlins was Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs at the University of Alabama. He then served at the University of Memphis, Tennessee, as their President from 1991 until the present. It is with pleasure we welcome Dr. V. Lane Rawlins back to Washington and Washington State University and we wish him the very best as President of our prestigious university. ************************************** MEETINGS & WORKSHOPS ************************************** DCTED TO HOLD HEARINGS ON BEST AVAILABLE SCIENCE AND CONSISTENCY RULES Four workshop/hearings will take place during March on the proposed rules by the Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development addressing best available science and project consistency. Starting at 6:30 p.m., CTED staff will present an overview of the Best Available Science rule and another rule on project consistency. The public hearings on Best Available Science will begin at 7:00 p.m. and the hearings on consistency will begin at 8:00 p.m. The workshop/hearings take place at the following locations: March 1 Water Resources Education Center Conference Room, 4600 SE Columbia Way, Vancouver March 14 Seattle Center, Center House Conf Room G March 28 Hal Holmes Community Center, 201 N. Ruby St., Ellensburg March 29 Eastern Washington University, Riverpoint Campus, 668 N. Riverpoint Boulevard, Spokane ************************************** NMFS TO HOLD ESA WORKSHOPS FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ON FEBRUARY 28 NMFS will hold an ESA workshop for local and regional Governments on February 28 in Tumwater, WA. The workshop will focus on how local jurisdictions can gain legal protections under the 4(d) rulemaking process. The workshop will cover the application, development, and usefulness of the 4(d) rules. The morning session will consist of an overview and discussion of NMFS proposed 4(d) rules, key definitions, key programs, and the meaning of these rules for local governments. The afternoon will provide an opportunity for participants to share with others their experiences and expectations for 4(d) rulemaking. There is no cost for the NMFS workshop. However, participants must RSVP. The workshop will be held from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm at the Labor and Industry Building Auditorium, 7273 Linderson Way SW, Tumwater, WA (near Exit 101 on Interstate 5). For more information or to register call NMFS at (503)230-5400 or email margaret.johnson@noaa.gov to RSVP. Space will be limited, so RSVP as soon as possible. ************************************** CONFERENCE ON MENTALLY ILL OFFENDERS COMING UP The Washington Institute for Mental Illness Research and Training is pleased to announce "Collaborating for Success", a conference on mentally ill offenders to be offered March 23 and 24. The conference will be held at Pierce College at 9401 Farwest Dr. SW, Lakewood, WA. It features presentations on research results, clinical applications, program design, and the collaboration of systems. Each session will cover co-occurring disorders. Keynoters will be from the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services and the United States Probation Office in Baltimore as well as Maryland's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene who will talk about partnerships in treatment this population. If you have questions, please call or write Beverly Miller at (253) 761-7562, beverly@u.washington.edu. ************************************** CO-OCCURRING DISORDERS CONFERENCE IN APRIL DASA announces the 10th annual Co-occurring Disorders Conferences on April 20 - 21 at Cavanaugh's in Yakima. Presenters will include Dr. Kenneth Minkoff, Harvard Medical School, Dr. Richard Ries, Harborview Medical Center, Dr. Marc Schuckit, UC San Diego, and Henry Lozano, Presidential Appointee for the Commission on Drug-free Communities. For further information, call Barbara Green at DASA at 1-877-301-4557. ************************************** DRUG PREVENTION CONFERENCE SCHEDULED DSHS and King County Mental Health and Substance Abuse are among the sponsors for the fourth annual Therapeutic Health Services drug prevention symposium on March 24. The symposium is entitled New Tools for a New Millennium: Parenting and Drug Prevention for the 21st Century and will be held at the Seattle Museum of History and Industry, 2700 24th Avenue East near the Arboretum and 520 bridge. The featured speaker is Milton Creagh, nationally renowned drug prevention, parenting, and youth motivational speaker. The honorary chairperson is Elissa Jaffe, Co-Host, KOMO-TV "Northwest Afternoon". For additional information contact Kathi Kuciemba (206) 323-0930, ext. 216 or David Newman, ext. 238. ************************************** DIRECTORY CHANGE ************************************** On page 1 of your 2000 Directory of County Officials please make the following change under Board Members: Chris Endresen should be followed by Kitsap County, not Island County as shown. We apologize to Commissioner Endresen for this oversight. ************************************** COUNTY CALENDAR ************************************** March 1 For the purpose of property taxation and the levy of property taxes, the boundaries of counties, cities and all other taxing districts shall be established official boundaries of such districts existing on March 1 of the year in which the levy is made. RCW 84.09.030 (For exceptions, see RCW 84.09.030, .035.) 6 Each county commissioner shall file a statement, verified by oath with the county auditor, showing for the previous year: (1) a complete inventory of equipment belonging to the respective commissioner district and (2) a statement of money coming into that commissioner's district from sources other than taxes, the person to whom the money was paid and the date paid. RCW 36.32.210 31 The county legislative authority shall submit to the Secretary of Transportation annual records and reports on county highway operations. RCW 36.75.260 ************************************** COMING EVENTS ************************************** Coming Events February 29 Western State Sheriffs' Annual Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada, through March 3. March 3-7 National Association of Counties' (NACo) Annual Legislative Conference, Washington Hilton Hotel, Washington, D.C. 27-31 Washington State Association of Coroners' and Medical Examiners' Spring Training, "Basic Death Investigation," Criminal Justice Training Center, Burien. 28-30 Washington State Association of Sheriffs' and Oregon State Association of Sheriffs' Annual Joint Meeting, Red Lion, Port Angeles. ************************************** RAMBLINGS ************************************** Congratulations to Cowlitz County Auditor Kris Swanson and her husband, Eric, on the birth of their first baby, a boy! Camden was born on February 21, weighing in at a robust 9 pounds, 6 ounces, and was 21 «" long. ************************************** JOBS ************************************** DIRECTOR DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, THURSTON COUNTY, Olympia, WA, Salary: $5,015 - $6,686, Closing Date: March 3, 2000. Responsible for overall management of Department, which includes the "one-stop" permit assistance center, current planning, advanced planning, building/fire, and code enforcement. Requires a BA with courses in public administration, planning or building safety, at least 4 years of senior management experience in development functions, and 3 years of significant supervisory responsibility. Send resume and letter summarizing interest, experience and qualifications to Linda Hoffman, Chief Administrative Officer, Information Desk, Thurston County Courthouse, 2000 Lakeridge Dr. SW, Olympia, WA 98502-6045 or fax (360) 357-2489. To receive an information package call (360) 754-3800 or TDD (360) 754-2933. Thurston County is an equal opportunity employer. ***** PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DIRECTOR, WHATCOM COUNTY, Bellingham, WA. Starting salary range $65,196-$70,452/year. The County needs a proven manager to build consistent practice and to gain the respect of staff. This position requires a Master's in Business administration, public administration, or related field AND 6 years of progressively responsible experience including 3 years management experience. Applications must be received by 5:00 p.m., March 20, 2000. Required application packet is available at Whatcom County Human Resources, (360) 676-6802, M-F, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., or email your application request to: hr@co.whatcom.wa.us. Call our jobline (360) 738-4550 or visit our website at www.co.whatcom.wa.us for more details. Equal Opportunity Employer. ***** COUNTY COORDINATOR/CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, ASOTIN COUNTY, WA - Asotin County is located along the banks of the Snake River in southeast Washington, bordered by Idaho and Oregon. A three person Commission governs the county. The successful candidate must be experienced in public administration, management system development, and project management. Strong interpersonal skills; group facilitation and consensus building are required. A Bachelor of Arts in pertinent field and at least three years experience working in public sector budgeting and accounting in an administrative or supervisory capacity. Salary $38,000 - $44,000 D.O.Q. Additional information is available from the following address: Asotin County Commissioners, PO Box 250, Asotin, WA 99402. All resumes must be received by 4/15/00. ***** KITSAP COUNTY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, PLANNER IV - Salary $4033.47 to $5146.27/month - Closing Date: March 13, 2000 at 4:30 p.m. Application packets are available in the personnel office and the following items are required: completed original Kitsap County Application form, supplemental questionnaire, if you would like your technical school or college level education considered, you must attach copies of transcripts or certificate/diploma. General Statement: An employee in this position plans, organizes, and supervises advanced planning or current planning activities in program development and implementation, project review, and ordinance development. The incumbent assists a Division Manager in the development of planning programs, in administration of the division, and in reviewing work produced in the division; coordinates work with other County departments and federal, state, and local agencies and groups on concept, development and preparation of applicable comprehensive plans; and serves as liaison with the Board of County Commissioners regarding land use and planning issues. Work assignments are broad in nature with general and limited technical instruction and require considerable independence in the selection of courses of action and resolution of complex or unique problems within the framework of department policies and procedures under limited direction. Minimum Qualifications: Bachelor's degree in planning or closely related field, Master's degree in planning preferred, and four years of progressively responsible work experience with a planning process related to community development, urban or regional plans with at least one year of project management, supervisory or lead responsibility, or any combination of experience and education which provides the applicant with the desired skills, knowledge and ability required to perform the work. Kitsap County is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Apply to Kitsap County Courthouse, 614 Division Street, MS-23, Port Orchard, WA 98366-4676, Telephone (360) 337-7185, Extension 0. ***** COWLITZ COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT - PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT ENGINEER. This position will provide program development services to varying department sections including road engineering, road maintenance, water/sewer, solid waste and parks. This position will consist of programmatic planning, comprehensive planning, technical advice, policy evaluation, standards and ordinance review, preparation of reports and budgets, coordination of Equipment Rental and Revolving Fund equipment purchases, and a number of other department responsibilities as assigned. Requires: Registration as a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Washington or a state having reciprocity with Washington with the ability to obtain reciprocity licensing within one year of the date of employment. A minimum of four years of broad based, progressively responsible experience as a civil engineer. Public Works Department employees are subject to pre-employment, reasonable suspicion and random testing for drugs and alcohol. Salary: $4,390 per month; subsequent annual steps $4,634, $4,879 per month. Applications and complete job description can be obtained by visiting the Administrative Services, 207 4th Avenue N, Kelso, WA 98626 or calling (360) 577-3065 or TDD (360) 577-3061. This position will remain open until filled. Cowlitz County is an Equal Opportunity Employer. ***** COUNCIL ADMINISTRATOR, KING COUNTY - The position provides administrative support to the operation of the King County Council and other legislative branch agencies through the provision of centralized support services including budgeting, human resource management, accounting payroll, computer network administration and clerical support. The Administrator reports to the chief of staff and is ultimately responsible to all thirteen members of the council. Deadline for applications is March 6. Annual salary range - $65,951 - $82,364. For a full job description and application, please call (206) 296-1688 or visit the county's website at ***** ASSISTANT ELECTIONS SUPERINTENDENT, SPOKANE, Washington - Administrative and supervision work in direct assistance to the Electronics Division Supervisor of the Spokane County Auditor's Office. Requires two years of college including coursework in Political Science, Public Administration, Business, or related AND three years office experience related to elections. Lead or supervisory experience preferred. Experience can be substituted year for year for education. Certification as an Elections Administrator by the Office of the Secretary of State preferred. $2215 - $2989/month plus excellent benefits. Closes 3/3/00, 5:00 p.m. For complete job description and application materials contact Spokane County Human Resources at (509) 477-5750, TDD. www.spokanecounty.org; Equal Opportunity Employer. **** END ****