Battling for Enumclaw, Reagan Dunn showcased his dedication to the Plateau once again.
King County Council Vice Chair Reagan Dunn, who represents District 9 and Enumclaw on the council, presented his version of a State of the County address during the July 10 Enumclaw City Council meeting. This year’s state of county address showcased record overdoses, crime spikes, and future budget shortfalls.
Some topics were directly relevant to Enumclaw, such as how recent redistricting brought more of the Plateau into District 9 while removing Kent and Renton.
“It’s nice that the Plateau is now, I think, unified in its representation rather than being divided,” Dunn said.
Other topics applied to King County as a whole rather than only to Enumclaw, such as record-high overdoses and overdose deaths, violent crime spikes including record-high murders, projected budget shortfalls, and proposed legislation for sex offender facilities in King County.
OVERDOSES
Dunn dove straight into the topic of overdoses, which have been quickly rising over the last few years. He attributes this to fentanyl, citing a 551% increase in fentanyl deaths since 2019.
According to him, overdoses were at an all-time high in 2022, with more than 1,000 overdose deaths, and the numbers are only expected to keep growing. 2023 is on its way to ending the year with around 1,400 overdose deaths if the current pattern holds.
“It’s pretty bad. It’s almost four overdose deaths per day in King County,” Dunn said. “For every fatal overdose, there are about 6 nonfatal overdoses. It’s a very serious issue with fentanyl driving the dramatic increases.”
Overdoses have been rising in Enumclaw too. Data from Enumclaw Fire Department shows first responders were called to 21 opioid-related overdoses in 2021, and 44 overdoses in 2022.
This year, from January through June, EPD responded to 20 opioid-related overdoses, so overdoses are on track to match or go higher than last year’s overdoses.
Regarding overdose deaths in the Enumclaw, Black Diamond, and South East King County area, King County Public Health Public Information Officer Kaila Lafferty said they do not release the number of opioid-related deaths when there are less than 10 deaths in an area due to the possibility of the individuals being identified.
Still, she said it is safe to say there were less than 10 opioid-related deaths in Enumclaw and Black Diamond.
Dunn said he introduced legislation last year to declare fentanyl a public health crisis, which has helped create more resources to combat fentanyl overdoses. However, he said it is still an uphill battle, stating that he does not see fentanyl deaths peaking any time soon.
To raise awareness that one fentanyl pill can kill, the Drug Enforcement Administration partnered with King County to create the Laced and Lethal program. Dunn said about $500,00 was put into the program last year, and about $150,000 was put into it this year.
VIOLENT CRIME SPIKE
Dunn said there has been a crime spike in King County, citing there has been a 60% increase in homicides and murders since 2019.
It might seem like homicides are lower this year, Dunn said, referring to a Seattle Times article from February 10, 2023, but he said historically, the summer is when most violent crimes occur. Dunn said he expects homicide numbers this year to match or exceed last year.
“In just the last few days across the Puget Sound area, there’s been a number of [homicides.] We got a real problem there. Firearm violence, gang-related violence, it’s all on the up,” Dunn said. “We’ll see at the end of the year where it ends up, but I wouldn’t say it’s a particularly safe time to be in Seattle. We’re near a 30-year high here in terms of criminal activity in a variety of ways. It’s just not a good trend.”
In Enumclaw, violent crime has remained largely unchanged, according to local police data and the 2022 Crime in Washington report, and some specific crime numbers even dropped; aggravated assaults decreased from five in 2021 and two recorded in 2022. Reported simple assaults also dropped from 60 in 2021 to 52 in last year.
SEX OFFENDER HOUSING LEGISLATION
In mid-January, a level three sex offender moved into a high-level sex offender group home off 188th Avenue SE near the White River Amphitheater. There was much outrage from the local community and disapproval from Dunn.
“We’ve been very engaged in this issue since the beginning and oppose it very strongly,” Dunn said. “I can tell you stories about my background as a federal prosecutor and what I dealt with sex offenders, the challenges, and the recidivism in that area.”
Dunn said there is proposed legislation in the King County Council to add several new requirements for Less Restrictive Alternative housing for high-level sex offenders.
Dunn’s proposed legislation includes a requirement that any LRA facility be 500 feet away from any public space where minors congregate, requirements for conditional use permits on any LRA site, and requiring the individual who applies for the LRA permit to hold a public meeting within the affected community, and the school district must be notified within two weeks of the meeting.
BUDGET SHORTFALLS
Dunn bluntly addressed expected budget issues, stating that King County’s general fund could experience a $100 million shortfall from 2025 through 2026.
“It’s gonna be a big hit. That’s a big one. We’ve maxed out our rainy day reserves for these budgets, but this one will require a lot of cuts,” Dunn said. “Some might say the county has spent very liberally over the last few years, and now the reality is that the COVID stimulus money is gone, and the real budget is back with us.”
Dunn said he expects money provided to nonprofits and other community organizations would most likely no longer be available.
This could include funds that Enumclaw has come to expect, like the $2,000 for the Enumclaw Plateau Historical Society, the $5,000 to Enumclaw School Foundation, and the $50,000 to the Enumclaw Expo Center for the King County Fair that Dunn provided this year.
Other programs that might be on the chopping block around the county include public health clinics that serve low-income residents, services for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, support for crime victims, family law support, regional gun violence prevention, alternatives to standard adjudication and detention, job training and other services focused on low-income BIPOC youth, support for small farmers and forest owners to manage their properties, and sheriffs and detectives in unincorporated and rural communities, Dunn said.
Some of the Plateau’s cities are also expecting some budget issues.
For example, Buckley’s projects an estimated deficit of about $450,000 in 2024, according to Buckley City Administrator Courtney Brunell.
“The city is expecting a deficit this year, an ongoing deficit actually,” Brunell said. “We’re looking for options to increase revenue and decrease expenditures across the board.”
Because they were expecting a large deficit, Brunell said they implemented some additional cost saving measures, so the actual deficit in 2024 might be less than the original estimate.
Brunell said at this time, they will not be adding any taxes for Buckley residents to mitigate this deficit, but they are looking at options to mitigate the budget deficit, like using funds from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act, lift some levies, and work on securing more grants.
She added that Buckley is looking to increase passport processing, which could bring in an extra $100,000 annually, and a proposed Mcdonald’s could bring hundreds of thousands of sale taxes into the city’s coffers.
Over in Black Diamond, Financial Director May Miller said the city is also planning for a budget deficit, but she said they expect to have enough cash flow over the next few years to stay afloat.
She said they do not know how much the financial deficit is, but they had a financial consultant assess their budget and determined Black Diamond will be OK. Miller said she attributes the shortfall to inflation, which triggered less spending.
“It had to do with inflationary building activity. There was less money coming in from permits and sales tax related to building those houses,” Miller said. “We knew where we were in the development right now, there was a little bit of a slowdown because of the inflation, but it’s planned to pick back up the following years.”
Enumclaw City Administrator Chris Searcy said Enumclaw does not plan the budget out as far as 2025-2026, and he said the planning for the 2024 budget is still too early in development to know if there will be shortfalls. Enumclaw Mayor Jan Molinaro echoed Searcy’s remark of not knowing what is expected in the future during the April 2023 State of Enumclaw address; Molinaro said didn’t want to make predictions, but added that he expects “unforeseen headwinds” while simultaneously saying that the city is in a strong financial position.
