It’s tough to urge voters to reject King County Proposition 1 when one considers what’s on the line — dozens of positions in the county’s criminal justice department as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars in support of various human service programs.

Even so, voters should vote “no” on this proposal.

The measure would increase the sales tax 0.2 percent, with 60 percent of the money going to the county and the rest to the cities in King County. The measure would bring the sales tax on most items sold in the county to 9.7 percent — one of the highest in the country.

We sympathize with County Executive Dow Constantine’s rationale for it. Sales tax receipts have fallen due to the region’s lingering recession, and the county is suffering financially: King County has already cut $140 million and faces $60 million in new cuts for 2011. Even with Proposition 1, more cuts will be made: Wages are frozen for many, layoff notices have been delivered, and a hiring freeze is in place.

What’s more, the county — unlike, say, Seattle — has virtually no other sources of revenues. When it comes to supporting one of the largest jurisdictions in the state, the sales tax is about it.

So why oppose such a measure?

First, because this tax is very regressive: It hurts most those who can least afford it. Backers say the services this tax will provide will help the county’s low-income residents— but this seems like an ironic and politically expedient way to justify such a tax. As we’ve noted before on these pages, we need to work toward a tax structure that’s fairer and less regressive.

Second, King County’s expenses — despite Constantine’s strong initial efforts — still need to be trimmed. And the biggest arena for cuts is in the generous pay and benefit packages many of the 14,000 county employees enjoy.

Across the country, employees in the private sector have had to pick up a larger and larger share of the costs of their health care benefits. The county needs to look closely at the pay and benefits given to county employees with an eye towards these changing times.

County officials and employees say they are getting the message. Over the last month or two, Constantine has reached tentative agreements with a number of unions to forego cost-of-living increases next year. Constantine and staff, along with the King County Council, are doing the same.

We realize these are extremely tough times for county government. And we believe our county needs to be not only adequately funded — but fully funded. Still, we urge Constantine to give it another go — to push harder to find some of the promised reforms and cost-savings — before he asks voters to dig deeper into their pocketbooks.