King County spends about $9 million on a two-year budget cycle to keep its Public Health Clinic in Auburn open.

But with its efforts hobbled by a $2 million biennial shortfall tied to its lease arrangement for the building, and a concomitant decrease in state and federal funding, county officials say, by Dec. 31, 2014 the clinic will close.

That would leave the 11,000 people in its service area of Auburn, Algona, Pacific, Black Diamond and Enumclaw who rely on its services adrift. Many people who find closure unconscionable are working hard to ensure that the clinic stays open.

This week, positive news.

“They worked a few numbers that reduced the deficit the county runs to keep the clinic open from about $2 million to $1.6 million over the two-year budget cycle, or about $800,000 a year,” Michael Hursh, director of administration for the City of Auburn, said of the latest negotiations.

For three hours, Hursh sat  with representatives of King County Executive Dow Constantine’s office, representatives of the offices of three King County councilmembers and representatives of King County Public Health.

In the coming weeks, Hursh said, the City will keep working to find partners willing to contribute, and to prod the county to do its part to keep the clinic open.

“And we’ll continue to work to find funding solutions that will allow us to go back and tell the county that we have a widespread network of support,” Hursh said. “Solutions that will allow us to say to the county, ‘You’ve heard the public outcry, and we’re asking that with the funding that we will raise and with the petitions of residents, we can keep the clinic open.’”

Auburn  has partnership resolutions from the cities of Algona, Pacific, Enumclaw and Black Diamond.

“We also have health providers in the area that will bear the brunt of service if the closure happens, because that would displace 11,000 clients every year from their service provider. So we are appealing to every interested party to do what they can to maintain this vital service,” Hursh said.

In two to three weeks, the City should have a clearer sense of whether the clinic can be saved,” Hursh said.

“Until that time we’ll be working very diligently to make it staying open a reality,” Hursh said.

At Monday’s meeting of the Auburn City Council, a woman, identifying herself only as “Gabriella,” a shelter resident, explained what the clinic’s closure would mean to her and those like her.

Speaking in Spanish, Gabriella used the interpretive skills of Nurse Practicioner Carol Tanaka, one of many people who had addressed the council before Gabriella did that night on the subject of the clinic’s possible closure.

“What I would like to tell you all is that I have benefitted, and I have been affected by these programs. I live with a lot of people who are victims of domestic violence, 25 families that all are served by these programs. We have a lot of kids that won’t be able to receive these services that are so important,” Gabriella said. “For those of us that have very, very little income, it’s a huge help. Many of the people couldn’t come tonight because they are with their children, and it’s very difficult. But I want to say personally that I have benefitted so much from the programs, and I don’t want it to end.

“I don’t know how to say this, but why are these services, which are so important, coming to an end?” Gabriella asked.