Skagit County Prosecutor Rich Weyrich and county Health Department Director Peter Browning may not get far with their intent to defy carrying out state-mandated programs without additional funding. But at minimum, they have raised the issue above internal grumbling to a public platform, where it deserves more than a bureaucratic reprimand.
It’s an old argument: The feds mandate programs to the states without providing funds, and the states mandate programs to local government without providing funds. Officials at all levels are left scrambling to obey the law and provide the designated services at the cost of other programs that may have more local appeal and community impact.
Weyrich and Browning have said “enough is enough,” avowing that they can’t and won’t provide some services that legislation requires of them. It’s probable that, ultimately, they will have to carry out the mandates. Where the money might come from is an unresolved question.
It would be nice to think that the state’s elected and appointed officials are listening and taking the defiance seriously. Not likely. Accountability and responsibility typically flow downward in the tiers of government. Weyrich and Browning have done their constituents a service in demanding that the people who mandate the services be answerable for the consequences.
• Editorials reflect the consensus opinion of the editorial board and are written by its members: Publisher L. Stedem Wood, Editor Don Nelson and City Editor Dick Clever.
Defiance of state mandates understandable
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