A Kent City Council committee approved funds Tuesday to hire 12 new police officers as part of a $1.2 million pre-annexation budget to serve 24,000 Panther Lake residents when they join the city July 1.
The Council’s Operations Committee voted 3-0 to approve a pre-annexation budget in order to get officers trained and ready to go to work July 1. The budget goes to the full Council Feb. 2 for adoption.
The city eventually plans to hire 24 police officers as well as a dozen or more employees in other departments as the city’s population jumps to about 112,380 from 88,380.
But city officials are closely watching the state Legislature this session to make sure the annexation funds provided to cities that annex new areas remain in the state budget. The state faces a $2.6 billion shortfall and legislators are trying to figure out how to raise more revenue and where to cut the budget.
The city expects to bring in about $11.9 million in new revenue each year in Panther Lake from property taxes, sales taxes and other fees. The state will pay the city about $5 million per year to help cover the annexation costs. That state money will come from a rebate of part of the sales tax revenue collected by the state in the city.
The proposed supplemental budget by Gov. Chris Gregoire includes the annexation funding, said Michelle Witham, city spokeswoman, during a report Tuesday to the Council. But Witham said that could change as the Legislature considers where to make cuts during its 60-day session scheduled to end March 11.
John Hodgson, city chief administrative officer, said it’s too early to know how a lack or reduction of state funding could impact the annexation budget.
“We will have to wait and see what the number is,” Hodgson said. “We will put out a budget now based on the revenue we will generate and the state money. We will figure out where to adjust it if the money does not come in from the state.”
City staff will present a final post-annexation budget (for July 1 through Dec. 31) later this year to the Council. City officials will keep the 2010 annexation budget separate from the city’s 2010 general fund budget.
Kent Police are ready to move into the new area. The King County Sheriff’s Office currently serves Panther Lake.
“We are really honored to be able to serve Panther Lake after July 1,” Kent Police Chief Steve Strachan said during his public safety report Tuesday to the Council. “We look forward to it.”
Voters in Panther Lake approved Proposition No. 1 on the Nov. 3 ballot to annex to Kent.
The borders of the annexation area generally start on the East Hill north of Southeast 236th Street to Southeast 192nd Street, and run east of 95th Avenue South to Soos Creek Park, just east of 132nd Avenue Southeast. The area covers 5 square miles and 3,300 acres.
“We are hiring now and it is heavily weighted toward public safety,” City Finance Director Bob Nachlinger said to the Operations Committee about the pre-annexation budget.
The 12 hirings will include two police sergeants, two detectives and eight patrol officers. The other city positions to be filled include a city-jail corrections officer, an evidence technician, a pre-annexation zoning planner and a human-resources analyst.
Six officers will enter the state police training academy next month in Burien in preparation to join the Kent Police.
City officials also will buy five new patrol cars at $55,000 each to handle the additional officers.
Kent Police will create a fourth sector to serve Panther Lake. The current sectors are the East Hill, West Hill and Valley.
“We are going to equal out the staffing,” Strachan said.
Panther Lake residents will continue to be served by King County Fire District 37 (that contracts with Kent) and the Soos Creek Water and Sewer District.
For more information go to www.ci.kent.wa.us/annexation.
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