The Courthouse Journal A Joint Publication of the Washington State Association of Counties & Washington Association of County Officials January 7, 2000 Number 1 LAST COURTHOUSE JOURNAL UNTIL LEGISLATURE ADJOURNS This will be the last issue of the Courthouse Journal until at least mid- March. The Legislature convenes on Monday, January 10, and this publication will become the Legislative Bulletin, updating WACO and WSAC members of the progress of all bills of interest. The regular session of the Legislature lasts 60 days this year and will adjourn on March 9. The Courthouse Journal will resume publication on March 17, unless a special session of the Legislature is called. ************************************** LEGISLATURE GIVES LUKEWARM RECEPTION TO GOVERNOR'S I-695 BACKFILL PROPOSAL The activity in the Legislature is beginning to kick into gear as they approach the opening of the session on January 10th. Association staff and several members have been busy meeting with key legislators over the last week and many of them have given at best, a lukewarm reception to the Governor's proposal to provide local government funds lost by the passage of I-695. There have been meetings with the Chairs of Transportation, Ways & Means, and Appropriations committees. Also there have been meetings with the House Democratic leadership. The House Republican leadership will be meeting with counties next week. Almost all of the legislators have pressed the counties for our "solution", but have also voiced skepticism about the Governor's package. Several themes seem to be consistent, public health is on everyone's list to fix. There will be some fix for criminal justice, but it is undecided whether it will be on-going or one-time monies. There is little or no consensus on a sales tax equalization fix. And finally, there is limited interest in finding a solution for transit. So far, legislators have offered few written proposals. However, it is just the beginning of the session and specific legislation will soon surface. Next week, there will be hearings in both the House Local Government and Appropriations committees at which counties and cities will make presentation on their 695 impacts. The Governor's proposal for counties, cities and transit follows from his statement that "the reductions to local governments as a result of the passage of I-695 are unacceptably high." He proposes to use $387 million from the state's reserves to fill state and local cuts resulting from the elimination of the MVET. The $387 million provides $123 million to counties and cities, up to $200 million for transit, $12.3 million for air programs, and $1.4 million for crime labs. Although the Governor proposes that much of the funding replacing the MVET public health distribution and the MVET sales tax equalization distribution be on-going, he said that "in the long run, local government will need to rely on their own resources to fill the gaps." It is the Governor's goal that no county or city receive more than a 10% reduction in their overall budgets as a result of I-695. His budget proposal would allocate $39 million from the state general fund for public health assistance and $33 million from the general fund to cities which lost sales tax equalization. He also proposes a $51 million one-time appropriation for counties to maintain criminal justice programs, including the Becca settlement. Transit systems would receive a $100 million one-time appropriation and a $100 million one-time local option sales tax credit. For more details on the Governor's proposal see the website http://www.ofm.wa.gov/budget00. ************************************** INITIATIVE 695 UPDATE: NOT ALL CRIMINAL JUSTICE FUNDING WAS CUT It has come to our attention that some counties are under the impression that all of the Criminal Justice Assistance Funding was cut with the passage of Initiative 695. This is NOT the case. Starting in July of 1999, a portion of the funding was composed of an appropriation from the state General Fund. With the passage of Referendum 49, the portion of the Motor Vehicle Excise Tax that funded Criminal Justice was reduced. To keep the counties' funding whole, the referendum included an appropriation from the state General Fund (see RCW 82.14.310). A story appeared in the July 9, 1999 Courthouse Journal explaining that I-695 only applied to the Motor Vehicle Excise Tax and that "The estimates do not include dollars received from sales and use taxes or funds distributed from the state General Fund." Attached are the estimates of the amount of Criminal Justice Assistance that each county should receive from the state General Fund. Please keep in mind that these are only estimates based on information obtained from sources deemed usually reliable. The figures are also based on the current distribution formula and assume no major changes in that formula during the coming year. Feel free to contact the Association office if you should have any questions. County Criminal Justice Assistance Funding provided by the state General Fund - Calendar Year 2000 County General Fund Dollars Adams $271,000 Asotin 274,000 Benton 546,000 Chelan 459,000 Clallam 321,000 Clark 998,000 Columbia 173,000 Cowlitz 554,000 Douglas 271,000 Ferry 124,000 Franklin 342,000 Garfield 150,000 Grant 477,000 Grays Harbor 431,000 Island 267,000 Jefferson 221,000 King 4,384,000 Kitsap 763,000 Kittitas 368,000 Klickitat 209,000 Lewis 437,000 Lincoln 185,000 Mason 405,000 Okanogan 266,000 Pacific 305,000 Pend Oreille 238,000 Pierce 2,009,000 San Juan 136,000 Skagit 513,000 Skamania 213,000 Snohomish 1,604,000 Spokane 1,313,000 Stevens 258,000 Thurston 722,000 Wahkiakum 138,000 Walla Walla 402,000 Whatcom 649,000 Whitman 224,000 Yakima 859,000 Total $22,479,000 ************************************** MOTOR VEHICLES - PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION Governor Locke's request legislation to reinstate the property tax exemption for motor vehicles, travel trailers and campers has been pre- filed in both the House and Senate. WACO will not introduce separate bills on this subject but will actively support the Governor's Request Legislation. SB 6115 is sponsored by Senator Loveland. The House Bill, HB 2309, is sponsored by Representatives Thomas and Fortunato. When bills are pre-filed, there is a period of time at the start of the session when other legislators can join on as co-sponsors. I would expect that these two measures will receive a significant number of additional co-sponsors at that time. Contacts have already been made both in the House and the Senate by the Governor's office and WACO members/staff, urging a prompt action on these two measures. We are hopeful that the bills will be scheduled for a hearing the first week of the legislative session, and will be one of the very first bills to pass the House and Senate; reach the Governor's office early in the session; and be signed into law. Now that there are specific bill numbers, assessors and treasurers should contact their legislators urging them to join as co-sponsors and support these measures. Also, ask them to contact their fellow legislators who are on the Senate Ways & Means Committee and the House Finance Committee urging their support as well. ************************************** ENVIRONMENT, LAND USE & RESOURCES ************************************** WSAC RESOLUTION GETS SPEAKER'S ATTENTION House Co-Speaker Clyde Ballard has written to Governor Locke and Attorney General Gregoire asking their assistance in protecting citizens and local governments in Washington from federal intrusion in state and local matters. In a memo sending copies of those letters to members of the House Republican Caucus, Speaker Ballard also attached the WSAC Resolution adopted in November addressing the same issue. The Speaker specifically asked the Governor and Attorney General to "take an aggressive lead in telling the federal government - specifically NMFS - that it follow the law, use due process and not continue it's unwarranted attack on our citizens." He notes that NMFS often is "demanding citizens and local governments reach a certain level of compliance, yet they refuse to clearly define what the level of compliance is." In like fashion, the WSAC Resolution calls upon NMFS and the Fish and Wildlife Service to "implement the ESA with the utmost respect for Constitutional protections afforded to state and local government and private property" and also asks that the Governor uphold the sovereignty of the State. ************************************** LOWER SNAKE RIVER JUVENILE SALMON MIGRATION FEASIBILITY EIS ISSUED On Friday, December 17, 1999, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released its draft Lower Snake River Juvenile Salmon Migration Feasibility Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The following information is taken from the summary of that document. The complete summary and other documents can be found at the Corps' website: www.nww.usace.army.mil. "As you read the summary, you will see that the scientific evidence is not conclusive and that we face some hard choices." The EIS indicates that more than 50 percent of all fish traveling through the lower Snake River (up to 15 million) are diverted and collected for transport. The remainder is left in the river. Average survival for juveniles through a dam and reservoir is in the mid-90th percentile. Cumulative survival through all four dams and reservoirs is over 80% and cumulative survival for juvenile salmon through all eight dams ranges from 45-60%. Under the PATH analysis, the relative benefits of dam breaching were dependent on assumptions about the quantity of delayed transport mortality and extra mortality attributed to the hydro system. The CRI analysis suggests that it is unlikely that any of the alternatives alone, including dam breaching, could recover spring/summer chinook, unless extremely large survival increases below Bonneville Dam are achieved. "How much more beneficial this alternative (dam breaching) is for juvenile fish over the other three alternatives depends on what rates of mortality are due to delayed transport and extra mortality that may occur to fish passing through the hydro system. . ." The EIS also indicates that breaching would increase flow velocities and depths would decrease. Any contamination would concentrate within the river. High water temperatures, such as those observed before the dams were built, may occur. In addition, 14,000 acres of land would be drained and exposed. This would have a short term adverse impact on wildlife dependent on reservoir conditions as well as on game birds, small mammals, amphibians and reptiles. Transportation costs would increase with breaching, necessitating major improvements in rail and highway capacity. The projected cost increase per bushel of grain would range from $.06 in Oregon to $.21 in Montana. There would be an increase of nearly 3 million truck miles in Washington. Public Meetings in the Washington area on the Draft EIS, All-H Paper and Multi-Species Framework Process are scheduled for the following times and places: February 3 & 4 Portland, Governor Hotel, 8:30 am February 8 Spokane, DoubleTree Hotel, 12 noon February 10 Lewiston, location to be announced February 15 Astoria, Clatsop County Fairgrounds, 5 pm February 17 Pasco, DoubleTree Hotel,12 noon February 29 Seattle, DoubleTree Hotel, 12 noon ************************************** NMFS' HEARING SCHEDULE FOR 4(D) RULES FOR PACIFIC COAST SALMON AND STEELHEAD On December 14, 1999, the National Marine Fisheries Service announced its schedule for adoption of three 4(d) rules establishing take prohibitions and "limitations" or exemptions from those take prohibitions. The rule language can be found on the NMFS webpage at www.nwr.noaa.gov. Final rule adoption is expected by June 19, 2000. The three rules apply to all threatened salmonids on the west coast. One rule covers seven threatened steelhead evolutionarily significant units (ESUs); one rule covers seven other threatened ESUs for chinook, chum, coho and sockeye; another rule addresses tribal resource management plans affecting threatened salmonids. Take is strictly prohibited for those species listed as "endangered" and therefore there are no take "limitations" for endangered species. Under federal law, there is a 60-day comment period on the proposed rules. Public hearings are scheduled throughout the Northwest in January and February; all hearings are scheduled from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. The schedule follows this story. In general, the 13 take limitations in the proposed rule can be summarized as programs in place that will have minimal impact on a listed species and programs in development and when completed and implemented will meet NMFS requirements for protection. More specifically, the following categories are covered by the rule as limitations on the take prohibition: scientific research conducted, supervised or permitted by state research programs fishery management activities approved hatchery and genetic management programs habitat restoration conducted through watershed plans properly screened water diversions the Oregon Department of Transportation road maintenance plan, which can be viewed at the following web address: http://www.odot.state.or.us/eshtm// the Portland Parks and Recreation Department integrated pest management plan Washington's Forests and Fish (TFW) program Portland Metro's urban growth management functional plans or similar local government habitat protection measures. The Puget Sound chinook rule includes a paragraph indicating that a limitation allowing for urban development is being developed by the Tri- County (King, Snohomish, Pierce) group. The framework for that limitation will be published in January, followed by the full proposal in April. NMFS is not - and cannot - require states, tribes, counties or private parties to conform to any of the proposed take limitations. The "limits" only describe one way to be sure that you are not at risk of violating the take prohibition or of consequent enforcement action. NOT BEING WITHIN A LIMIT DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOUR COUNTY IS VIOLATING THE ESA OR THE PROPOSED 4(D) RULES. It only means that your county may be at risk of ESA activities if the activity you engaged in or authorized takes a listed fish. Written comments are due by March 6, 2000 and should be sent to Garth Griffin, Protected Resources Division, NMFS, 525 NE Oregon Street - Suite 500, Portland OR 97232. Comments by e-mail are not accepted. NMFS 4(D) RULE HEARING SCHEDULE: Portland January 10 Metro Regional Center, Council Chamber, 600 NE Grand Avenue Lewiston January 12 Lewiston Community Center, 1424 Main Street Astoria January 20 Columbia Maritime Museum, 1792 Marine Drive Pendleton January 25 City Hall Council Chamber, 500 SW Dorian Ave Yakima January 26 Yakima County Courthouse, Room 420, 128 North 2nd Street The Dalles January 27 MidColumbia Senior Center, John Day Room, 1112 West 9th Anacortes January 31 City Hall Dining Room (Basement), 904 6th Street Seattle February 1 NW Fisheries Science Ctr Auditorium, 2725 Mountlake Blvd. E. Port Angeles February 2 City Hall Council Chamber, 321 E. 5th Lacey February 3 Sawyer Hall, 510 Desmond Drive ************************************** NEW FUNDING CYCLE BEGINS FOR SALMON RECOVERY MONEY The Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRF Board) has begun the Year 2000 funding cycle for salmon recovery projects. In a WRIA that has a lead entity established through Chapter 75.46 RCW (the HB 2496 process), applications for funding will be processed through the lead entity to the SRF Board. In all other WRIAs, applications will be submitted directly to the SRF Board. WRIAs 2, 31, 34, 36-39, 41-44, and 50-62 are not covered by a lead entity. Non-lead entity applications are due to the SRF Board on January 18, 2000. Lead entities will solicit applications during the remainder of 1999 and evaluate and prioritize project lists during January 2000. Project lists from WRIAs coordinated under Chapter 75.46 RCW must be submitted to the SRF Board by January 31, 2000. The SRF Board will make funding decisions at its March 17 meeting in Wenatchee. The full SRF Board meeting schedule for the winter months is January 21 in Spokane, February 17-18 in Bremerton, and March 16-17 in Wenatchee. ************************************** ECOLOGY'S WATER QUALITY FUNDING PROGRAMS FOR FY 2001 The Department of Ecology has begun the Fiscal Year 2001 application cycle for water quality grants and loans on January 3rd, 2000. Applications will be accepted until February 29th, 2000. The department is holding application workshops in convenient locations around the state in early January 2000. The workshops will include detailed discussions of the questions on the application, and will help those who attend develop better applications. Grant funding sources remain limited but there is an estimated $75 million in SRF loan funds available, significantly more than in recent funding cycles. Here are the estimated grant and loan program funding amounts: Centennial Clean Water Fund Program - approximately $11.7 million in grants and loans for point source and nonpoint source projects. Special appropriation from the Public Works Account - approximately $5 million in grants, limited to facilities projects located in small towns Section 319 Nonpoint Source Grants Program - approximately $1.8 million in grants. State Revolving Loan Fund - approximately -$62 million in loans. With the strong competition expected for grants and the large pool of loan funds, Ecology encourages applicants to consider loans. Applicants may note on their application that they would accept loan funding if grants are not available for their project. This will increase their flexibility without decreasing their chances of receiving a grant. Ecology's low interest rates are competitive with other funding sources and are significantly lower than bank notes or municipal bonds. Ecology can even provide interest-free loans for projects that would otherwise cause financial hardship to local citizens, or for projects with a rapid repayment. Applicants with ideas for innovative uses of loan funds should contact Ecology staff to discuss their ideas. Some of the innovative uses of loans in recent years include local loan funds for on-site sewage system repairs or implementation of agricultural best management practices, and refinancing of higher interest debt. For more information consult http://www.wa.gov/ecology/wq/funding or contact Tim Hilliard at the Department of Ecology at (360) 407-6429 (or by e-mail at thil461@ecy.wa.gov). ************************************** LAW & JUSTICE ************************************** HERTOG RELIEF APPEARS STALLED Less than three days before the start of the legislative session, and after several months of work by the local government associations, there still is not a bill to limit local-government liability for the actions of criminal defendants in a misdemeanor probation or pre-trial release program. Key lawmakers, under pressure from trial lawyers and victim-advocacy groups, are not stepping up to address this matter, which arose from a state Supreme Court opinion issued last summer. Key lawmakers are: Senators Costa and Heavey, and Representatives Ballasiotes, O'Brien, Constantine, and Sheahan. They need to hear from county commissioners and councilmembers about the value of a Hertog bill to limit local liability and preserve misdemeanant probation services - which are discretionary. The Supreme Court in Hertog v. City of Seattle held that probation counselors, pre-trial release counselors who have supervisory authority, and their employing agencies have a duty to protect the public from reasonably foreseeable harm resulting from the dangerous propensities of probationers and pre-trial releasees under their supervision. This significantly extends the liability of counties and cities regarding the supervision of such defendants. ************************************** JUVENILE JUSTICE GRANTS AVAILABLE The Governor's Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee (GJJAC) is releasing a request for proposals for the 2000-2001 grant year. The GJJAC will fund proposals in the program area of "Primary Prevention and Intervention for Runaways, Truants and Non-offenders." Interested counties may contact Rosalie McHale at the Office of Juvenile Justice (360-407-0148) for a copy of the RFP. The RFP also may be downloaded from the GJJAC Web site at www.wa.gov/juvenilejustice/. Proposals must be postmarked no later than February 11, 2000 or hand delivered to the Office of Juvenile Justice no later than 4:00 p.m. that day. Late proposals will not be accepted. Faxed and e-mailed submissions will not be accepted. The GJJAC was established by Executive Order in 1982 and is responsible for selecting innovative juvenile justice projects to receive federal funding. It also makes recommendations to the governor, legislature and the Department of Social and Health Services for improvements in juvenile justice. ************************************** MEETINGS & WORKSHOPS ************************************** TIMBER COUNTIES TO MEET JANUARY 27TH AT 4:30 PM AT THE WASHINGTON COUNTIES BUILDING This meeting is being held to conduct an election to select a representative to serve as a member of the Board of Natural Resources. Grays Harbor County Commissioner Bob Paylor has been the Timber Counties representative. He is leaving his county office at the end of January and will no longer be able to serve on the DNR Board. Bob has done an admirable job not only as a DNR Board representative but also as a member of this Association. We will all miss Bob and wish him well in his new employment. Three WSAC members have expressed interest in becoming the new Timber Counties representative. They are Glen Huntingford, Jefferson County, Larry Philips, King County, and Marlene Dawson, Whatcom County. This meeting is being held in conjunction with the WSAC Legislative Rally so there should be good attendance for this meeting. However, any forest board county may cast their vote by written proxy for the purpose of electing the county member to the Board. Each timber county has one vote as stated in RCW 43.30.040. Each county intending to vote by proxy needs to send their vote in as an official action of the county marked proxy. Please mail your vote to the Association office to the attention of Bill Vogler. ************************************** STORMWATER WORKSHOP JANUARY 19 AND 20 A two-day stormwater workshop sponsored by WSDOT, Spokane, Benton and Franklin Counties, the American Public Works Association and other state agencies takes place in Moses Lake on January 19 ad 20 at the Moses Lake Conference Center. Registration is $85 and the registration deadline is January 13. The workshop is recommended for county engineers and planners and is especially focussed on Eastern Washington. For the complete agenda see www.wsdot.wa.gov/eesc/environmental/stormwaterwksp.htm. For more information, contact Shoshana Moore, David Evans Associates, at 425-519-6500. ************************************** BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ************************************** FORMER KING COUNTY COUNCILWOMAN APPOINTED TO CENTRAL PUGET SOUND GROWTH BOARD Lois North, longtime King County Councilwoman, has been appointed by Governor Locke to fill a vacancy on the Central Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board. North, a Republican, also served in the House of Representatives and the State Senate. She will serve the remainder of the term begun by Chris Smith Towne, which expires on June 30, 2000. ************************************** FYI ************************************** FUNDING FOR THE FALL 1999 PWTF PRE-CONSTRUCTION APPLICATION CYCLE (Submitted by Washington State Public Works Board) On December 7, 1999, the Public Works Board approved seventeen projects for funding for the Fall 1999 Public Works Trust Fund Pre-Construction Loan application cycle totaling $4,132,743. The Trust Fund received twenty-one applications requesting $6,575,893 for pre-construction activities. Applications for the next funding cycle for PWTF Pre-Construction Loans will be available in the summer of 2000. Applications are due on Monday, September 25, 2000. We anticipate that approximately $5 million will be available for funding. If you have any questions please contact Cecilia Gardener at (360) 664-2856 or email: ceciliag@cted.wa.gov. ************************************** BYRD AND ZYDEK JOIN WSAC STAFF After two months of advertising and interviewing for a new Policy Director and Administrative Secretary, the Association is proud to announce the addition of two outstanding new members to our staff. Sophia Byrd is the new Policy Director, responsible for law and justice, and transportation issues. Sophia comes to us from King County where she spent three years in the Department of Development and Environmental Services as Code Development Coordinator and legislative liaison. She is a graduate of the University of Washington Law School. Before that she spent ten years in the newspaper business, first at the Everett Herald as a political reporter covering the state legislature and finally as an editor at the Seattle Times. Sophia also was an intern at WSAC for one session of the Legislature. We are pleased to have Sophia on board. Kim Zydek comes to us by way of Lewis County where she was a Personnel Specialist in the county personnel department and risk management departments. Kim will take on added duties by being our lead in preparing for meetings and special events. She has experience in doing similar duties and we are excited about her joining the WSAC team. Please come by and introduce yourselves to both Sophia and Kim, they look forward to meeting the members. ************************************** COMING EVENTS ************************************** January 10 Legislative Session Begins 14 WSAC Legislative Steering Committee Meeting, Washington Counties Building, Olympia. 18-19 County Assessors' Legislative Meeting, Washington Counties Building/Aladdin Inn, Olympia. 24 County Treasurers' Debt Policy Workshop, Washington Counties Building, Olympia. 25-26 County Treasurers' Legislative Meeting, Washington Counties Building, Olympia. 27 WSAC Legislative Rally, Ramada Inn Governor House, Olympia. 28 WSAC Legislative Steering Committee Meeting, Washington Counties Building, Olympia. February 1-2 County Auditors' and County Clerks' Joint Legislative Mini-Conference, Cavanaugh's at Capital Lake, Olympia. 11 WSAC Legislative Steering Committee Meeting, Washington Counties Building, Olympia. 25 WSAC Legislative Steering Committee Meeting, Washington Counties Building, Olympia. 24-25 County Auditors' Records Conference, The Enzian Inn, Leavenworth. ************************************** RAMBLINGS ************************************** Pierce County's Budget and Finance Department has received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government finance Officers' Association, in Chicago. The award, which is the highest recognition in governmental budgeting, recognizes the achievements of the Executive Director of Administration Patrick Kenney; Budget Manager Mary Schmidtke; and coworker Jeffrey Esser. * * * * * We were sorry to learn of the December 28 death of former Pend Oreille County Commissioner and Auditor, Glenn Earl, 76. Glenn was a long-time farmer, businessman and public official. He successfully ran for county commissioner in 1956 and served three terms from January, 1957 through December, 1968. In 1980, Glenn was elected as a commissioner of the Pend Oreille Public Utility District and served three terms through the end of 1982. He was the Grange Insurance agent at Deer Park for 22 years until 1986 when he became the Pend Oreille County Auditor. Glenn retired from auditor after 6 « years to his home near Diamond Lake. ************************************** JOBS ************************************** WASHINGTON STATE ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES - EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, Annual Salary Range: $90,000 - $100,000. The Washington State Association of Counties (39 member counties) seeks an experienced executive with a strong background in the legislative arena and a firm foundation in local public sector administration to manage, administer and execute the Associations' business affairs and legislative lobbying efforts. Requires the equivalent to a BA in Public Administration, Business, Pre-law or a related field and five (5) years progressively responsible professional work experience related to public agency administration. Local government administrative experience is preferred. Applications, resumes and supplemental questionnaires must be received c/o the Yakima County Human Resources Department, Room 412 Courthouse, Yakima, WA 98901, (509) 574-2210, by 5:00 p.m. Friday, January 14, 2000. Equal Opportunity Employer. ****** KING COUNTY - FINANCE AND INFORMATION SERVICES DIVISION MANAGER, Department of Judicial Administration/Superior Court Clerk $49,812-$63,379 Responsible for policy development & implementation in areas of finance/trust management, customer service, & superior court records access. Manage trust fund balance of over $10 million and an annual cash flow of $110 million. Manage judgment recording, enforcement of internal audit controls and accounting principles, and adherence to records management policies. Conduct revenue forecasting. Design & develop financial reports. Manage 3 supervisors and 33 division staff in six sections. Bachelor's degree in accounting or business administration, plus four years of supervisory or management level experience in the accounting or court field is required. A Masters Degree in Business Administration and CPA certification are highly desirable. For announcement & application, call (206) 205-8782 or www.metrokc.gov/ohrm/psd/openings.html. Closes 1/21/00. ****** OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER - SPOKANE COUNTY - Outstanding opportunity for a computer/technology advanced real-time Court Reporter in Spokane County Superior Court. Work very closely as a member of the departmental team with the judge, bailiff and clerk. Requires 3 years experience, must meet reporting and transcription wpm requirements. CSR required, RPR and real- time experience preferred, $22.46/hr. plus excellent benefits. Closes 2/18/00, 5 PM., no postmarks accepted. For application information contact Spokane County Human Resources, 1229 West Mallon, Spokane, WA 99260, (509) 477-5750, TDD www.spokanecounty.org; Equal Opportunity Employer ****** DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF CURRENT PLANNING - SPOKANE COUNTY: Newly established position will plan, organize and direct the current planning division of Spokane County Public Works, including 16 employees and budget of $1.7 million. Requires 4-year degree in Planning, Public Administration, Political Science or related AND 3 years progressively responsible planning experience including one year in a supervisory capacity. $46,976 - $63,387/year plus excellent benefits. Closes 1/28/00, 5:00 PM. For complete application materials contact Spokane County Human Resources, 1229 Mallon, Spokane, WA 99260, (509) 477-5750, TDD, EOE, www.spokanecounty.org. ****** DIRECTOR OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES - CLALLAM COUNTY. Full-time departmental head position. Salary DOQ, with excellent benefits package. Recruitment opens January 9, 2000. Interested persons should contact the Clallam County Jobs Line at (360) 417-2528. ****** LABOR RELATIONS MANAGER - THURSTON COUNTY, Employee & Admin Services, Closing Date: February 11, 2000. Salary: $3,868 - $5,157/month. Develops County labor relations policy and implementation strategy. Represents the Board of County Commissioners in negotiations of collective bargaining agreements. Provides labor relations advice. Requires BA degree in business administration, public administration, psychology or closely related field, and 4 years progressively responsible labor relations experience in the public sector. Applications are available at Info Desk, Building 1, Thurston County Courthouse, 2000 Lakeridge Drive SW, Olympia, WA 98502, or call (360) 754-3800 or TDD (360) 754-2933. Application must be submitted/postmarked by closing date. ****** DIVISION ADMINISTRATOR - THURSTON COUNTY Pacific Mt., Closing Date: January 21, 2000. Salary: $3,708 - $4,944/mo. This position reports to the Department Director and is responsible for managing the fiscal and information management section. Oversees budgets, grants and contracts, and serves as a key representative to state, federal and local jurisdictions. Requires BA in business or public admin, ad 4 years experience in fiscal management. Applications are available at Info Desk, Bldg 1, Thurston County Courthouse, 2000 Lakeridge Drive SW, Olympia, WA 98502, or call (360) 754-3888 or TDD (360) 754-2933. Application must be submitted/postmarked by closing date. ****** SNOHOMISH COUNTY CONTROLLER - The basic duties involve supervising and managing the accounting and financial reporting functions for Snohomish County and its junior taxing jurisdictions. The Controller also supervises employees in the areas of accounting, payroll, accounts payable, and accounts receivable. Qualifications: We are seeking an individual with a bachelor's degree in finance or accounting, plus six years relevant experience. A graduate degree in finance, plus an MBA, are also highly desirable. In the area of personal traits, the County is looking for an individual with strong leadership skills, excellent communication abilities, and strong desk top and systems computer skills. Compensation: The year 2000 pay range is $61,200 to $76,400 annually. Questions & Application Procedures: To apply, please e-mail a cover letter and copy of your resume to Dan Clements, Finance Director, at dan.clements@co.snohomish.co.wa.us no later than 6:00 p.m. Thursday, January 20,2000. **** END ****