King County voters could decide next month to increase the property tax rate in order to prepare the criminal justice system for the decades ahead.

The ballot measure Proposition 1 asks voters to approve a $200 million property tax levy to fund a replacement for the aging Youth Services Center, a juvenile detention facility in Seattle.

“We have a fairly good court system. We have a good prosecution office. We have good sheriff’s deputies. But this facility is the leak in the pipeline,” King County Councilman Reagan Dunn said in a July 13 interview. “For criminal justice to work effectively — especially with the increase in crime we’re seeing right now — all aspects of that pipeline need to be operating effectively.”

Dunn is Newcastle’s representative on the council.

If the nine-year levy is passed, homeowners can expect to pay about 7 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, or about $20 per year for a home assessed at $350,000 in 2013.

The replacement plan is a long-held goal for county leaders. Officials started planning to replace the Youth Services Center years ago. The project has ranked as the county’s highest-priority capital project since 2008.

The existing Youth Services Center is not designed to handle a hectic caseload. Judges and commissioners at the juvenile court on site handle 3,700 cases per year at the facility. Officials said courtrooms and waiting areas lack enough space for juvenile offenders, family members, attorneys and others.

The detention facility houses about 65 children and teenagers from throughout King County.

The proposal calls for replacing decaying buildings constructed in the 1950s, 1970s and 1990s. Officials deemed the electrical, plumbing, and heating and cooling systems as beyond repair.

“It’s a facility that when I joined the council eight years ago was a dump then, and it’s in a very serious state of disrepair,” Dunn said.

Officials said replacement costs for the systems could reach more than $20 million.

“It’s just like an old car — you keep trying to repair it, but after awhile it’s more economical to buy a new one,” Dunn added.

(Dunn, a Republican, is running for state attorney general against a council colleague, Democrat Bob Ferguson.)

If voters approve the measure, a replacement facility is scheduled to open in 2019.

Measure attracts support

The latest ballot measure comes after a failed attempt to raise replacement dollars. In 2010, voters rejected a broader sales tax package meant to raise dollars for criminal justice services and replace the Youth Services Center.

“We did a lot of work to scale back the size of the project,” Dunn said. “It wouldn’t have been fair to the taxpayers to propose the Taj Mahal, so we proposed what I think is in the middle range of what was necessary for voters to consider.”

Councilwoman Kathy Lambert joined Ferguson and councilmen Larry Gossett and Joe McDermott to introduce the legislation. The council agreed in a unanimous decision to place Proposition 1 on the August ballot.

The measure attracted broad support from leaders in local government and the criminal justice system.

County Executive Dow Constantine, Prosecutor Dan Satterberg and King County Superior Court judges support the measure.

The authors behind the statement supporting Proposition 1 in the county voters’ include former U.S. Attorney John McKay and former state Supreme Court Justice Bobbe Bridge.

“Despite decrepit conditions, our court is leading in innovations for juvenile and family justice,” the statement reads. “The new CFJC will better serve families and child advocates by co-locating services like medical treatment, counseling and placement. The new design will improve safety, privacy and dignity. Combining services will save millions in duplicative service providers and offices.”

Opposition to Proposition 1 is more difficult to ascertain, especially because most voters did not learn about the measure until ballots arrived.

The voters’ pamphlet statement against the measure does not directly address the juvenile detention facility and instead focuses on property tax increases in general.

“Again, the council has declined to propose a sales tax increase, opting instead for the property tax increase it’s confident will pass because homeowners constitute less than half of registered voters,” reads the statement against Proposition 1. “Further, since the council is indebted to public service unions for the support which re-elects its members, there’s been no action to reassign any governmental service to the private sector where it might be delivered more economically.”

The bid to increase the property tax rate in a difficult economy initially gave Dunn pause, too.

“I am going to vote for it,” he said. “I wasn’t certain when I voted it out of the council that I was going to support it, but I knew it was a serious enough proposal that it needed to go to the voters.”

In a unanimous decision, King County Council members placed a $200 million property tax levy on the Aug. 7 ballot to fund a replacement for the aging Youth Services Center, a juvenile detention facility in Seattle. The facility is a collection of decaying buildings. Officials said the electrical, plumbing, and heating and cooling infrastructure is beyond repair.

If the nine-year levy is placed on the ballot and passed, homeowners should pay about 7 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, or about $20 per year for a home assessed at $350,000.

Judges and commissioners at the juvenile court on site handle 3,700 cases per year at the detention facility. The complex houses about 65 children and teenagers from throughout the county.

Councilman Reagan Dunn, Newcastle’s representative on the council, said the proposal reflects the lean economic reality.

“I think that it is proportionally and appropriately sized given the need,” he said before the council decision. “We all know the facility is desperately in need of repair.”

(Dunn represents rural areas south of Issaquah and Newcastle on the council.)

In 2010, voters rejected a broader sales tax package meant to raise dollars for criminal justice services and replace the Youth Services Center.

“A levy is a much better way to fund the infrastructure that King County needs to build,” Dunn said before the April 16 decision.

Councilwoman Kathy Lambert joined councilmen Bob Ferguson, Larry Gossett and Joe McDermott to introduce the legislation.

In the existing facility, county officials spent millions addressing ongoing mold and moisture lingering from a 2006 flood. Officials suspended court operations at the facility in 2010 after a water main broke outside the building.

King County Council members decided Monday to put a $200 million property tax levy to construct a juvenile detention facility on the August ballot.

The proposal is to fund a replacement for the aging Youth Services Center, a juvenile detention facility in Seattle. The facility is a collection of decaying buildings constructed in the 1950s, 1970s and 1990s. Officials deemed the electrical, plumbing, and heating and cooling systems as beyond repair.

Judges and commissioners at the juvenile court on site handle 3,700 cases per year at the detention facility. The complex houses about 65 children and teenagers from throughout the county.

If the nine-year levy is placed on the ballot and passed, homeowners should pay about 7 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, or about $20 per year for a home assessed at $350,000.

In unanimous decision, council members placed the measure on the ballot. The primary election is scheduled for Aug. 7.

Councilwoman Kathy Lambert joined Ferguson and councilmen Larry Gossett and Joe McDermott to introduce the legislation.

“The issue of building a new Family Youth and Justice Center in Seattle is now in the hands of the voters,” Councilman Reagan Dunn, Newcastle’s representative on the board, said in a statement. “I urge the public to take a close look at the ballot measure and make an informed decision on this important levy.”

In the existing facility, county officials spent millions addressing ongoing mold and moisture lingering from a 2006 flood. In 2010, officials suspended court operations at the facility after a water main broke outside the building.

Reagan Dunn, Newcastle representative on the King County Council, outlined additional tools Monday to combat gang-violence.

Reagan Dunn

The proposed legislation calls for establishing anti-criminal street gang emphasis areas and allow judges to prohibit people convicted of gang-related crimes from entering areas of high gang activity.

In 2011, officials recorded 802 gang-related incidents countywide.

“Illegal gang activity is on the rise and has put our communities at risk,” Dunn said in a statement. “These ordinances will give law enforcement another tool to use against those suspected of gang-related activity. It’s a giant step in the right direction and I urge my colleagues to support its immediate adoption.”

(Dunn represents rural areas south of Issaquah and Newcastle.)

The proposals head to the Council’s Law, Justice, Health and Human Services Committee for consideration.

Under the existing law, judges can restrict people convicted of drug or prostitution-related offenses from entering designated areas. Under Dunn’s proposal, judges could only enforce anti-gang areas to people convicted of misdemeanor gang-related crimes, because the County Council has no authority over state sentencing standards for felonies.

If the legislation is adopted, the council could define and establish anti-criminal street gang emphasis areas.

The other proposed ordinance is meant to fill a gap in state law in relation to gang intimidation and people trying to get out of or stay out of a gang.

The existing state law is limited to protecting people enrolled in public or alternative schools. Dunn’s proposal aims to outlaw threats of bodily injury against anybody refusing to join, trying to leave, or after leaving a gang — regardless of enrollment in school.

Dunn, a Republican, is running for state attorney general against Democrat Bob Ferguson, a fellow councilman.

The effort is the latest to combat gang violence in King County. The council set aside $1.4 million last year for anti-gang efforts.

Soon after the announcement, the Issaquah representative, Councilwoman Kathy Lambert, said the gang-related shootout at Lake Sammamish State Park in July 2010 also influenced the decision to confront gang violence. The lethal gun battle left a 33-year-old Kent man and a 30-year-old Seattle man dead.

King County Council members — led by Newcastle-area Councilman Reagan Dunn — sought to raise awareness of a life-threatening condition Monday, and proclaimed March as Deep-Vein Thrombosis Awareness Month.

Dunn, a local representative on the council, sponsored the proclamation to honor his late mother, former U.S. Rep. Jennifer Dunn. The elder Dunn died in September 2007 from a pulmonary embolism caused by deep-vein thrombosis.

“DVT awareness continues to grow in the public realm, but more needs to be done so people understand the signs and symptoms of DVT and can reduce their risk,” Reagan Dunn said. “In honor of my mother, I have worked across the country to raise awareness of this serious, yet preventable, condition.”

Jennifer Dunn, a former state GOP chairwoman, represented the 8th Congressional District in Washington, D.C., from January 1993 to January 2005.

The deep-vein thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot in a deep vein, most often in the lower leg. The clot can then break off and, if not treated immediately, can move into the lungs and block circulating, creating a pulmonary embolism — a life-threatening condition.

Dr. Roger Stark, Washington Policy Center  health care analyst, and Dr. Anneliese Schleyer, associate medical doctor at Harborview Medical Center and a deep-vein thrombosis expert, accepted the proclamation from Reagan Dunn.

The proclamation supports a national campaign to build awareness of deep-vein thrombosis and to encourage the public to undergo screening. The condition affects about 2 million people in the United States each year — including 600,000 hospitalized for deep-vein thrombosis. The pulmonary embolisms caused by deep-vein thrombosis claim up to 300,000 lives in the United States each year.

“Simple steps can ensure that people know the signs of DVT,” Reagan Dunn said. “Those signs and understanding what needs to be done can literally save lives.”

Reagan Dunn

King County Councilman Reagan Dunn announced a plan Thursday to urge state legislators create a “blue alert” system to inform the public about people suspected of injuring or killing law enforcement officers.

The proposal came hours after a man fatally shot a state trooper in Kitsap County. Dunn plans to introduce a motion Monday urging the council to support state legislation to create a “blue alert” system.

“This tragic pattern of injury and death to law enforcement officers in Washington state simply cannot continue,” he said in a statement. “We in government must do everything in our power to protect those who put their lives on the line everyday in order to protect us.”

House Bill 1820 calls for Washington to join least seven other states using such a system. Modeled after AMBER alerts, a “blue alert” could use resources to inform the public about suspects accused of harming law enforcement officers.

“I am grateful that Councilmember Dunn is again offering his support to law enforcement to help stop future tragedies,” Republican State Rep. Mike Hope, prime sponsor of HB 1820, said in a statement. “King County’s support of HB 1820 will help pave the way for this important legislation to pass this year.”

State Rep. Marcie Maxwell is a cosponsor of the measure. (Maxwell, a Renton Democrat, represents Newcastle in the 41st Legislative District.)

(Dunn, a Republican, is running for state attorney general against Democrat Bob Ferguson, a fellow councilman.)

U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert, a former King County sheriff and Newcastle’s representative in Congress, called the death of Trooper Tony Radulescu a tragedy.

“Trooper Radulescu’s sacrifice serves as a reminder of all the brave men and women who keep our streets secure while their loved ones worry for them,” Reichert said in a statement. “I urge everybody to do what they can to support not only Trooper Radulescu’s immediate family, but also his greater family of first responders. Keep them all in your thoughts and prayers today and every day.”

King County Executive Dow Constantine and Seattle Mayor McGinn unveiled a proposed public-private partnership Thursday to construct a Seattle arena for professional basketball and hockey teams.

Dow Constantine

Reagan Dunn

The proposed arena — a $500 million facility, including $290 million from private investors — could host NBA and NHL teams in South Seattle near Safeco Field. Local elected leaders, including Newcastle County Councilman Reagan Dunn, lauded the proposal, but said the package needs additional scrutiny.

“As stewards of public money, we must closely examine any plan that seeks King County’s role in financing such a project,” he said in a statement after Constantine and McGinn announced the proposal. “I look forward to learning more about the proposal.”

County Councilman Joe McDermott, budget chairman for the council, said the proposed arena offers potential to create jobs and foster economic development.

“I know there will be many questions moving forward, particularly about the county’s role in any financing,” he said in a statement. “I look forward to examining the proposal in detail.”

Constantine and McGinn said investor Christopher Hansen, a Seattle native, sent a proposal to King County and Seattle to construct the arena. The executive and mayor also appointed a 10-member panel comprised of community leaders and finance experts to study the arena proposal.

“When someone comes forward and offers to put up nearly $300 million of private money and bring the NBA back to the city of his birth — that’s something you have to look at very seriously,” Constantine said. “I strongly support returning NBA basketball to King County and, particularly these days, such a proposal would need to be self-funding. On first read, it appears Mr. Hansen’s proposal meets that requirement, but we’re asking our review panel to make sure.”

Hansen proposed $290 million in private investment for the facility. The proposal calls for Hansen and other investors to bear the costs to acquire the NBA team and seek a partner to recruit the NHL to the facility.

The proposal calls for the remaining arena development and construction costs to be financed by a combination of tax revenues generated by the facility, and property and rental income paid by the teams.

“If successful, we believe our effort would represent one of the largest private investments ever made in a new arena in North America and would provide a significant source of job and economic growth for the region,” Hansen said in the letter.

Constantine and McGinn directed the Arena Advisory Panel to review the financing and other details. The panel is asked to submit a report to the county and city leaders next month.

If a memorandum of understanding can be reached among King County, Seattle and Hansen, a proposal could be considered by the Seattle City Council and the King County Council later in the spring.

The announcement spurred cautious optimism among former Seattle Sonics fans. Owners relocated the team from Seattle to Oklahoma City — and renamed the Sonics as the Thunder — in 2008.

“As a diehard Sonics fan, I long for the days of ‘The Glove,’ Gary Payton, and Seattle’s ‘Reign Man,’ Shawn Kemp,” Dunn said. “I sincerely hope Sonics basketball is in Seattle’s future.”

King County is akin to the Oakland A’s depicted in the film “Moneyball” — nimble and unconventional — County Executive Dow Constantine declared Monday.

“The county used to be a little like the New York Yankees. Its first response to a problem was to throw money at it,” he said. “Now we’re more like the 2002 Oakland A’s depicted in ‘Moneyball’ – smart and scrappy. Finding inefficiencies in the established system – seeking out the highest performance at the lowest-possible cost. Getting the best value.”

The top elected official in the county emphasized partnerships and prosperity as steps to reshape local government. Some changes resulted from a performance-based management program modeled on a system at Toyota.

“The state of county government can be found in this simple fact: King County is back on sound financial footing,” he said.

Officials did not need to make deep cuts to services last year in order to craft a 2012 budget. Constantine used the “Moneyball” example to highlight efficiencies in county government.

“By reexamining everything we do, by questioning the old, conventional ways of doing business and seeking the most efficient and effective ways to reach our goals, we can help put our region in a position to compete, and win, in a rapidly changing world,” he continued.

Constantine said county government borrowed some practices from business — including a performance-based management program called Lean — in order to improve services.

“King County is not a business, but we can and should be business-like — knowing our customers, working to meet their needs,” he said.

Constantine announced plans to relocate the Department of Development and Environmental Services main office from Renton to Snoqualmie to shift services closer to customers. Plans call for the office to feature a customer assistance center to provide drop-in services at a single counter. Moreover, customers can apply for most permits online.

Earlier in Constantine’s term, officials adopted flat fees for county permits — eliminating a frequent headache for rural and unincorporated landowners.

“Streamlining customer service with a single point of contact will need to benefit the rural as much as the urban areas as we work toward one King County,” Councilwoman Kathy Lambert said in a statement.

Even the setting aimed to reflect the unity theme. Constantine crossed Lake Washington to Bellevue City Hall for the address.

“Bringing this speech out of the courthouse and into the cities of King County is more than symbolic,” he said. “It reflects our determination to bring government — at all levels — closer to the people we serve.”

King County, Constantine noted, is home to more people — about 2 million — than 14 states and Washington, D.C. The population and size create challenges and opportunities.

“Ours is a growing region, and within our reach is a unified, prosperous future,” he said. “In the civic landscape, boundaries are starting to matter less, but the effectiveness of our public institutions in a changing and dynamic environment matters even more.”

Partnerships among the county and cities is a long-term focus for the executive. (Constantine traveled to all 39 cities in the months after assuming office in November 2009.)

“So my job — our job — is to ensure that government works, and that it works for all the people — to support safe communities, accessible justice, a clean environment, the ability to get around and a chance for everyone to thrive and succeed regardless of the circumstances of their birth or the ZIP code in which they live,” he said.

County Council members applauded the executive’s focus on partnerships and prosperity.

“I appreciate the emphasis on support for transportation options and renewable energy as essential to our sustainable, shared economic prosperity,” Lambert said.

Reagan Dunn, who represents Newcastle on the council, lauded Constantine for seeking input from the council to shape policy.

“I’ve appreciated Executive Constantine’s ongoing collaborative approach in working with the council,” Dunn said in a statement. “As we move forward into the new year, it’s important that we find new ways to reform government in order to best serve our citizens.”

New equipment and training provided to King County Sheriff’s deputies could mean the difference between life or death for residents facing a cardiac arrest emergency.

King County Emergency Medical Services, a division of Public Health — Seattle and King County, will distribute 53 Automated External Defibrillators to deputies interested in the training.

Those deputies can be dispatched to a cardiac arrest call along with emergency medical responders.

Equipped deputies who arrive first to the scene of a cardiac arrest will be trained to start resuscitation and deliver the first defibrillator shocks. As soon as emergency medical responders arrive on the scene, they will take over resuscitation duties.

“Training and equipping sheriff deputies with external defibrillators is a great service for all residents in King County and will definitely save lives,” said Dr. Mickey Eisenberg, the Medical Director for King County Emergency Medical Services, in a statement. “Rapid defibrillation can literally snatch the life from the jaws of death.”

Fifteen deputies have already been trained and equipped with the AEDs.  The remainder of the AEDs will be assigned over the next few months as deputies receive training.

“This is a voluntary initiative and all deputies receiving an AED have expressed their interest in participating in this life-saving program,” said King County Sheriff’s Captain Bryan Howard, emergency services coordinator for the sheriff’s office.

Public Health provided the funding for 49 of the AEDs.

EMS levy funding is available for projects related to training for King County and a region-wide municipal workforce, as well as providing AEDs for King County facilities and vehicles.

“Our sheriff’s deputies often arrive first at the scene of an emergency, and they are already trained to save lives,” said King County Councilwoman Kathy Lambert, chair of the county’s Security Oversight Committee. “These AEDs are important tools to have available in the field so we can get help quickly to where it is needed. Recent placement of AEDs in the King County Courthouse already has saved at least one life, and now we can expand this capability throughout the community.”

As the King County Council begins to listen to hours of public testimony at a series of budget hearings, one overall theme became clear at its Oct. 13 session — support human services now, before it’s too late.

Derek Franklin, a Sammamish resident and representative of the Alliance of Eastside Agencies, said the county must begin to formulate a dedicated and stable long-term funding source for human services, such as those aimed at protecting residents from homelessness, domestic violence and inadequate legal counsel.

“Although sometimes obscured by the high socioeconomic status of the Eastside, human service needs here are quite high,” he said during a public hearing at Pacific Cascade Middle School near Issaquah. “We urge the budget committee to establish a long-term fix for the human services safety net. It’s been significantly dismantled over the years by budget cuts, and people … are beginning to fall through the cracks.”

King County Executive Dow Constantine’s 2012 budget proposal earned praise from County Council members for eschewing cuts to services in the general fund — elections, law enforcement and other basic government functions. The overall budget proposal is $5.3 billion, including $648 million in the general fund.

Using $1 million from savings, Constantine proposed creating a fund for human services to invest in nonprofit organizations offering food for the needy, support for the homeless and more.

Steve Roberts, executive director for Congregations for the Homeless, echoed Franklin’s sentiments in increasing funding to services for the homeless on the Eastside.

He praised Constantine’s supplement that has been added for human services, but said more needs to be done to protect the most vulnerable residents of King County.

“As you know in these tough economic times, unfortunately, as funding goes down, needs go up,” he said. “We really need to address the needs of the hungry and the homeless and the poor. It’s really when we address those needs, we reflect our humanity.”

Councilwoman Kathy Lambert, Issaquah’s representative and a member of the council’s budget team, said the council hears and understands the human services message on a financial and personal level. The more opportunities the county has to keep people out of the justice system and prevent incarceration, the better, she said.

“We just got some information that says for every $1 you put into prevention, you save $60 on the back end,” she added. “We want families to stay together. Having somebody to be able to continue working and taking care of their family is really important.”

Constantine protected most services in the 2012 county budget, but called for reduced road maintenance on roads in unincorporated areas, including some near Issaquah.

Cost reductions elsewhere could not salvage funds for roads in rural and unincorporated areas.

In mid-September, Constantine proposed a plan to prioritize road maintenance, snow removal and storm response on a tiered system to save money for the cash-strapped Road Services Division.

Streets on a lower tier — including Tiger Mountain Road Southeast, Southeast Klahanie Boulevard and sections of Southeast May Valley Road west of state Route 900 — could receive little or no snow or storm response, especially during major storms.

In recent years, annexations of unincorporated areas into nearby cities, lower property valuations and a dip in gas tax revenue caused the fund to drop 18 percent, from $128 million to $106 million.

Issaquah School Board member Chad Magendanz encouraged the council to review the proposed reduced road maintenance to make sure it doesn’t overlap with the school district’s snow removal routes.

“Right now, many of our snow routes are in your lowest served tier,” he said at the budget hearing. “Without any snow plow service, we’re going to have to cancel school.”

Officials projected a $20 million shortfall in the general fund for 2012, but Constantine said savings across the board prevented the expected deficit from materializing.

Warren Kagarise: 392-6434, ext. 234, or wkagarise@isspress.com. Christina Lords: 392-6434, ext. 239, or newcastle@isspress.com.