August 17, 2020 by

Sales Tax Revenues Decline, but not as Badly as Rumored

By: Jim Cine and Kate Kremer

If you are in or soon entering bargaining, right now it is critical to be reviewing the month to month sales tax numbers, in a way that is has never been seen before.

Two immediate takeaways: First, sales tax revenues have dramatically declined, and second, the drop is not nearly as sharp as many local budget officers have been projecting. You can’t take your budget department’s dramatic announcements of dire circumstances to be accurate without doing your own work.

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Filed Under: Economic Developments, Economics
August 17, 2020 by

CPI Drops, but Seattle Still Surpasses the All-Cities Index

By: Jim Cline and Kate Kremer

Pushed down by the COVID Recession, the important June to June CPI number showed a dramatic, though expected, drop.  We say “important” because many Washington public safety labor contracts are tied, directly or indirectly, to the June CPI numbers. As indicated in the recently released Guidebook on “Negotiation in Turbulent Times”, regardless of the CPI, we anticipate challenging bargaining in 2020 and into 2021. We are expecting most employers will at least start with 0% as their base wage proposal, and we’ve already seen one proposal for a -3%. [Read more…]

Filed Under: CPI, Economics
February 1, 2019 by

New Year Brings New Paid Family and Medical Leave Law

New Year Brings New Paid Family and Medical Leave Law

By:  Jim Cline and Eamon McCleery

The start of the new year also marks the partial implementation of Washington’s New Paid Family and Medical Leave program. Think of that program as a mandatory long-term leave insurance program adopted by the Washington State Legislature for most employers, public and private. Throughout 2019, the fund for the program will be built up with employer and employee payroll contributions. Starting in 2020, the program will use those accumulated funds to pay employees a portion of their wages while they are away on a qualifying long-term leave. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Uncategorized