What a 15% General Fund Decrease to WDFW Will Look Like for 2015-17

[bigtex]

As I reported in http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,158701.msg2097409.html#msg2097409 WDFW (and all state agencies) are facing a 15% general fund decrease for the 2015-17 budget. This would equate to about a $11,000,000 loss for WDFW. In the above thread I mentioned which programs are facing a cut. WDFW has now released which functions within those programs are facing the cut. Per WDFW, under a 15% cut WDFW will cut:

-Reduction of 8 Enforcement Officers
-Reduce HPA permitting
-George Adams Hatchery Reduction
-Hoodsport Hatchery Reduction
-Close Minter Hatchery
-Close Nemah Hatchery
-Close Naselle Hatchery
-Close Samish Hatchery
-Reduce Puget Sound Commercial Salmon Fishery
-Reduce Grays/ Willapa Commercial Salmon Fishery
-Reduce Puget Sound Shellfish Fisheries

[Hunterman]

Well they need to bite the bullet just like the rest of the department need to.

Hunterman(Tony)

[JimmyHoffa]

Any chance one of the eight enforcement officers to be cut has a name that starts with 'C'?

[kenzmad]

All the rest of the population has taken a way bigger cut in their budget. Learn to do more with less

[BAR C3]

Any chance one of the eight enforcement officers to be cut has a name that starts with 'C'?

As in Cram! Unfortunately he has way to much seniority. 

[bigtex]

Any chance one of the eight enforcement officers to be cut has a name that starts with 'C'?

 

Actually WDFW has been pretty good at managing their vacancies through hard economic times. Even though WDFW lost positions during the "Great Recession" no officers actually lost their jobs. Funded vacant positions simply turned into unfunded positions. The last time WDFW actually had to lay officers off was the last 90s.

Now some of you may be wondering why this thread says to cut 8 officers, but WDFW is requesting two bills that would increase officer numbers. Basically the two bills WDFW is requesting would bring funding for a specific enforcement focus, and would be funded via special sources. General fund money is mainly tax money. So with the current proposals out there WDFW would lose 8 officers via a General Fund decrease, gain 10 officers via a new tax on the bivalve shellfish industry, gain 2.5 officers on a recreational fishing license increase, gain .5 officer on a commercial fishing license fee increase. So realistically if all of the bills were to pass exactly how WDFW wants them to (highly unlikely) the best WDFW could do is an increase of 5 officers. Now with all that being said, all positions would have to be in Western WA.

The reasoning is that WDFW would have to certify that each of those new positions resulted in the equivalent of an officer in the field patrolling. So if WDFW did get those 10 positions via the shellfish tax to increase shellfish enforcement then they would have to show that each month WDFW worked 1,710 hours of shellfish enforcement (WDFW Officers work 171 hours per month). If they get the 2.5 from the recreational fishing bill, 2 would be dedicated towards shellfish so they would have to show 342 hours per month of shellfish enforcement, .5 would go to lower Columbia and coastal rivers so they would have to prove 85.5 hours per month of enforcement. And the .5 officer from the commercial fishing license increase would result in 85.5 of commercial salmon fisheries enforcement. It's pretty obvious to tell you couldn't fund an officer in Spokane any of these bills because they are not able to work any of these functions.

[bigtex]

Any chance one of the eight enforcement officers to be cut has a name that starts with 'C'?

As in Cram! Unfortunately he has way to much seniority. 

Cram retired atleast a year ago.

Pretty sure JimmyHoffa is referring to Cenci.

[timberfaller]

Typical government cutts!!!   always from the bottom up never from the top down!

I know of a Federal hatchery who have lost a bunch of "workers" so instead of replacing them,  Portland wants to hire paper pushers for their office there!

In government, if your position requires you to break a sweat now and then, ITS not of much Value!!!

[BAR C3]

Any chance one of the eight enforcement officers to be cut has a name that starts with 'C'?

As in Cram! Unfortunately he has way to much seniority. 

Cram retired atleast a year ago.

Pretty sure JimmyHoffa is referring to Cenci.

Good for Cram!
I figured he had to have 40 years by now since he ticketed me at 16.  I saw him about 8 years ago at a shooting competition I brought my SWAT team to. His face turned several colors of red when he saw me and four other guys from Forks who moved over to Eastside that he knows quite well.