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17 <br />1 figure out what we are going to do. I would like to say that we have a priority order for <br />2 decision making, where a tax increase is at the end. We might have to raise the tax, and it is <br />3 part of our responsibility to meet our fiscal obligations, but there are different ways that we <br />4 can get there. <br />5 <br />6 Commissioner Rich said she was thinking along the same lines as Commissioner Jacobs. <br />7 Different residents of the county have different expectations of what our budget should be <br />8 and what we should be spending money on. Not everybody is going to be happy when we <br />9 start cutting or if we raise taxes. We should balance out as best as possible all that is before <br />10 us. Commissioner Jacobs added that the tax equity study's presentation of the difference in <br />11 income across the different areas of the county is eye- opening. That's a factor we never <br />12 really discuss, but it's an underlying current in everything we do. <br />13 <br />14 Commissioner McKee said that when he joined the Board seven years ago he was <br />15 adamantly opposed to any tax increase, because of the ten or eleven years of constant tax <br />16 increases. I have evolved in my thinking, he said. I don't see how we are going to be able to <br />17 go forward long term without some tax increase. But I also don't see how we can remain <br />18 healthy and affordable without cuts; and those cuts are going to be painful and they are <br />19 going to be adamantly opposed. We are going to have to be prepared for that. We're not <br />20 going to see the storm that Commissioner Marcoplos referred to earlier, before it hits. <br />21 <br />22 Commissioner Burroughs expressed appreciation for Commissioner Dorosin's broadening of <br />23 the conversation. We definitely should look at efficiencies, cuts, and "selling the cow" by <br />24 making a short term adjustment in our reserves. We can talk at a high level about all these <br />25 things, but when we come back to this conversation after today we will be responding to the <br />26 Manager's budget, she said. In fairness to the Manager, and as leaders, we need to give the <br />27 Manager some specific direction. In reply to a question from Commissioner Marcoplos. Ms. <br />28 Hammersley said it would be helpful to hear specific suggestions for cost efficiency <br />29 opportunities from the Commissioners, perhaps after the lunch break. <br />30 <br />31 Commissioner Price said she agreed with the broader look suggested by Commissioner <br />32 Dorosin. We also have to be mindful of approaches that others can take to help the county <br />33 address the local economy, which impacts the County budget. She acknowledged the work <br />34 Commissioner Rich is doing on the living wage, for example. Economic development that <br />35 brings in jobs and additional development are factors affecting our budget as well, she said. <br />36 <br />37 Commissioner Rich asked the staff to present after the lunch break on the actual dollar <br />38 amounts that would be added to the household budgets of owners of differently valued <br />39 homes under the two tax - increase scenarios. <br />40 <br />41 12:00 Lunch Break <br />42 <br />43 12:45 Continue Budget Exercise <br />44 We'll focus on the set of items favored by a majority of the Board for the next <br />45 discussion: <br />46 • What Board values /goals is advanced by this set of potential priorities, and how? <br />47 • What concerns would staff or Board members have if this (majority) set of budget <br />48 priorities were adopted by the Board? <br />49 • How might the Board or staff address those concerns? <br />