Apparently the solution King County, Federal Way and Auburn arrived at weeks ago to save the King County Health Centers wasn’t quite the study in harmony we were told at the time.

None of the key elected officials involved, other than Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell, are talking for the record. However, others close to the situation say Federal Way has come in for some criticism after they decided to settle their negotiations with King County without telling Auburn. According to sources, Auburn thought the two cities had an agreement to negotiate jointly with King County.

In a region where cooperation among jurisdictions on issues like transportation, crime and social services is essential, Federal Way may need to work a little harder in the future to burnish its image as a cooperative and trustworthy partner.

Some regional observers recall the Sound Transit debacle and were hoping Federal Way city leaders had learned from past experience about why cooperation with other cities is in everyone’s long-term best interest.

In June, King County announced it would have to close several health centers, including those in Federal Way and Auburn, due to budget problems. County officials urged Ferrell, Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus and other affected mayors to consider helping with the funding as a means to keep the doors open for another year.

Ferrell agreed to ask the City Council to support a $221,000 one-year contribution, which they did. Ferrell and the City Council justifiably received significant political credit from the health centers’ employees, customers and the media, including the Mirror and this column, for helping to save the centers.

But the big political winners were Executive Dow Constantine and the employees of the health centers who negotiated an agreement that froze the employees’ salaries and added a second year to the time for arriving at a long-term funding agreement.

But we have learned that there was more to the story.

While the initial story on the closures broke in June, Federal Way apparently wasn’t aware of the significance until mid-August. Sources say Backus and Federal Way Chief of Staff Brian Wilson had a discussion at a regional meeting and Auburn felt there was an agreement to work together on an immediate short-term solution and present a united front in negotiations with the county.

Both leaders identified a staff person to meet and work out the details. Auburn assumed Wilson would brief Ferrell on the meeting. The two appointed city staff members met in person once and also had a phone meeting.

Insiders say Ferrell, under pressure to meet the time frame for the executive’s budget proposal, reached his agreement without letting Auburn know. Sources say the first Auburn knew of Federal Way’s commitment on funding $221,000 with the county was when a Mirror reporter called Auburn City Hall for a response to Ferrell’s statements, including one that there “wasn’t enough time” to work together with other cities.

Even though all Federal Way Council members wanted to save the health centers and were willing to support a financial contribution, some felt rushed and privately questioned why more time wasn’t devoted to discussion and options.

One said, “Jim was in too big of a hurry to try and get the health centers into his win column.” Ferrell says he believed that he had to act quickly or the whole agreement would have fallen through.

Auburn’s challenge was far more complex and included not only the continued service, and a larger geographic area, but building issues as well. Their interest in partnering with Federal Way was strategic, feeling by working together the total price might be less for everyone.

Auburn chose to reach out to other interested governments including the cities of Algona, Pacific, Enumclaw, the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, the Valley Regional Fire Authority and Orion Industries from the private sector for financial support.

But despite having a more complex problem, Auburn felt working with Federal Way on a short-term agreement would set the stage for easier long-term discussions if the foundation was put in place now.

Auburn acknowledged that meeting the executive’s deadline might be desirable, but the real deadline was the County Council’s final approval of the county budget and that gave them several more weeks to work with Federal Way and others to achieve an agreement. Since Federal Way had gone out on their own, Auburn continued to bring in partners.

Federal Way City Hall only contacted the Federal Way school district, which had legal questions about financial participation.

Some participants say that when Federal Way reached a separate agreement with the county, it undermined attempts at a joint solution and established the amount Auburn city government would have to pay at a higher level than might have been necessary, particularly since others, including the employees, were willing to contribute.

Insiders say that Backus contacted Ferrell to express Auburn’s concern and remind him of the agreement with Wilson to work together.

They say Ferrell said he “would check into the discussion with Wilson,” suggesting he may not have known all the details. However, when interviewed for this column Ferrell said he was fully aware of the Backus-Wilson discussion but said “it was for a long-term solution only.” Some participants expressed surprise at that interpretation.

Further, Ferrell said his concern was Federal Way, not Auburn. The six mayors from the different cities would likely share the same view about their own jurisdiction. But they placed significant value on working in partnership as it might provide for a better outcome for their constituents.

And by not allowing itself to be rushed, Auburn created extra time that it used to forge a joint agreement with several partners. Constantine and Backus announced the agreement on Nov. 5 that went to the County Council and included significant contributions from several organizations.

While nothing should detract from the success the executive and mayors Ferrell and Backus achieved, Auburn’s share was $220,000 —$1,000 less than Federal Way’s. Not much difference, but most observers think there was a big message in that small amount of money, and maybe a lesson to be learned for future relationships.

Bob Roegner is a former mayor of Auburn: bjroegner@comcast.net.