Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell, King County Executive Dow Constantine and King County Councilman Pete von Reichbauer all deserve credit for collaborating on a short-term fiscal plan to keep the Federal Way Public Health Center open for two years.

It is a political win for all three leaders as they found a way to help a significant number of mothers and infants in Federal Way continue to receive services.

But equal credit also needs to go to the employees of Seattle-King County Public Health who demonstrated their commitment to their clients by agreeing to contract pay concessions.

Constantine has also been working with other city leaders to help restore cuts in Auburn, White Center and Bothell. At their meeting last week, the Federal Way City Council approved Ferrell’s proposal to spend $221,000 of city money, representing about 30 percent of the needed funds for one year. The county will make up the balance in 2015 and will fund the entire shortfall in 2016.

Even though the agreement and Federal Way’s financial support are only good for one year, the employee  concessions will help provide a second year of operation while a permanent funding solution is sought.

One of the strategies suburban cities learned long ago was there is strength in numbers when negotiating with the county. Going at it alone, or making agreements with the county without suburban consensus  isn’t the best recipe for long-term success.

The cities have each approached the issue in a different manner, which would suggest that even though there were some discussions among suburban leaders, they lacked consensus on a plan or a coordinated strategy that will be an essential part of the next round of discussions.

Ferrell said there wasn’t time for that to occur in the short run. However, a united front is a stronger system for suburban interests, ensures equal and consistent treatment and a level playing field for the negotiating process.

The cost of regional services, and who pays for them, is not a new topic and regional leaders have debated that for over 30 years. It is a complex topic with a lot of moving financial and political considerations. Health is only one of the many services that should be up for discussion, as different cities have different services and different needs.

One city shouldn’t cut its own deal at the expense of another city. If they do, the same thing could happen to them over another service.

That is what makes county-wide coordination among city leaders so essential to their long-term political relationships and their joint fiscal relationships with the county.

In his budget proposal Monday, Constantine proposed a county-wide levy for early childhood development for 2015, however that shouldn’t detract from county-city negotiations.

Past regional leaders have done a lot of work, so the task is not as daunting as it could be.

County governments do not have the revenue options available to them that cities have, as counties were designed to be more rural service providers. However, King County is unique as a significant regional service provider without the revenue options.

Cities are urban and were designed to have more revenue-raising capacity to provide a higher level of service. Given the low rate of taxation combined with recent expenditures, Federal Way needs to be careful in any negotiation when saying they “can’t afford” a new service.

While counties receive property tax, it is limited to 1 percent, plus new construction, and sales tax in the unincorporated areas yields very little. Cities have several ways to raise needed funds in addition to the property tax and are the primary beneficiary of sales tax. The county is usually short each year and has to rely on fees, grants, federal and state funds and service cuts to balance their budget.

The end result of these negotiations shouldn’t be just a new cost distribution formula, unless there is new money involved. The county has been looking for another revenue stream for many years. The county and cities could jointly pursue financial support from other stakeholders, such as Planned Parenthood, which is partnering to help in Seattle. Or they could seek help from the  the private sector, from the large health care systems in the region or they could ask the Legislature to grant the county additional taxing authority.

Relying on a voter-approved levy alone isn’t enough.

But those issues are for the long-term discussion. For now, Federal Way residents and Public Health Center clients should thank Constantine, von Reichbauer, Ferrell, the Federal Way City Council and particularly Public Health employees for stepping  up to solve a problem that will help many people in our community.

Federal Way resident Bob Roegner is a former mayor of Auburn. Contact him at bjroegner@comcast.net.