Federal Way’s Public Health Center will stay open — at least for two more years.

King County Executive Dow Constantine delivered that message to a room full of applause as he unveiled his $8.9 billion budget proposal for 2015-2016 on Monday in the King County Council chambers.

“It was a thrill to be sitting in the front row of a packed chambers and to have the county executive single out the leadership of our city in preserving these critical services to 13,700 low-income mothers and their children and to hear the applause that this news earned,” Mayor Jim Ferrell wrote in an email to City Council members following the unveiling. “It was a powerful reminder to me about the great work we are doing together.”

Seattle-King County Public Health officials recently announced that four of its 10 health clinics, including Federal Way, could shutter next year due to a lack of state and federal funding.

The Council voted last week for a one-time expenditure of $221,000 toward the clinic’s operating costs for 2015, with a tentative deal that King County would cover the remaining costs, pending labor agreements.

The city’s contribution will help fill a $750,000 annual gap to keep the clinic open.

Over the next two years, the county will spend approximately $1.3 million on the Federal Way clinic.

Following the Council’s vote, Public Health employees represented by four labor unions voted to accept wage concessions. This step and merit freeze will affect approximately 1,200 employees department-wide and will save the county $1.5 million over the biennium, said Seattle-King County Public Health spokesman Keith Seinfeld.

About half of those savings will help fund the Federal Way clinic over the next two years.

Combined with similar concessions for non-represented staff and management, Public Health will have enough savings to operate the Federal way clinic for the 2015-2016 biennium.

“What I talked to Jim about right at the outset was the notion that we collectively need to be pushing for a new way of funding these clinics that guarantees they can stay open,” Constantine said during a phone interview. “Limping along and being at the mercy of state funding is not adequate or appropriate.”

He said the county’s partnership with Federal Way means Public Health services will continue here.

“It means we can bridge across to the day when we can establish permanent funding for our Public Health clinics,” Constantine said, thanking Public Health employees, Ferrell and the Council for “stepping up” to help save the clinic.

He noted that Federal Way benefits under his budget proposal over the other cities where clinics are slated to potentially close — Auburn, Northshore and White Center — because the county’s partnership with Federal Way “came together in time for us to make the budget decision.”

However, Constantine said he will continue to work with the other affected cities to establish community partnerships that will keep their clinics open.

“It’s going to require funding from governments or other community partners because the shortfall is pretty dramatic and the time is relatively short now,” he said.

Constantine will also work with community partners to develop a “Best Start for Kids” levy proposal next fall. He said funding from that levy, if voters approve the measure, could augment funding for the Public Health clinics.

Ferrell said the partnership with the county took some “quick activity and quick diplomacy” between the Council and county officials, including Constantine and King County Councilman Pete von Reichbauer.

Now, he and the Council will work on a longterm solution to keep the clinic open.

“We’re going to be working on this for the next several months trying to put the pieces together on a structural regional solution,” Ferrell said.

The County Council is expected to adopt a final budget in November.