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AN ORDINANCE adopting the 2006 Annual Budget and making appropriations for the operation of county agencies and departments and capital improvements for the fiscal year beginning January 1, 2006 and ending December 31, 2006.
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BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. Findings. The council makes the following findings of fact:
A. King County government is responsible for providing a variety of services to all residents of the county. These include: regional services, such as criminal justice, public health, wastewater treatment and public transportation; subregional services through contracts with several suburban cities for police protection, jail services and municipal court services; and local services to unincorporated areas, such as police protection, roads, surface water management, local parks and land use regulation. To provide these services, the council has adopted a 2006 budget totaling $3.46 billion, of which $580 million is in the general fund.
B. The metropolitan King County council, through the oversight of its policy, regional and budget committees and informed by a variety of master planning efforts, task forces and citizen advisory groups, works throughout the year to bring down the cost of government and improve the effectiveness of services. The 2006 budget embodies five years of council policy direction and coordination that have stabilized criminal justice spending, created priorities for human services, implemented best business practices, instituted strategic planning and performance measurement, and initiated strategic analysis of technology projects. As a consequence, the county is able to maintain a network of mandated services and needed discretionary services for the most fragile members of our society, while saving money and improving outcomes.
C. Over the past five years, the council has cut more than $130 million from the county general fund. These reductions were necessary because th...

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