OLYMPIA -- Another quick meeting this morning for legislative leaders and Gov. Jay Inslee in the efforts to settle on a 2015-17 operating budget, with the prospect of a second meeting sometime this afternoon.

After the daily 10 a.m. confab in the governor's conference room attended by legislative leaders, top budget writers and their staffs, Office of Financial Management Director David Schumacher said the sides have yet to reach an agreement on the total amount of money that will be in the budget. . . but they are getting closer.

"The first thing they're trying to figure out is the spending level they can all agree to," Schumacher said. "They got really close to the same number."

Sometimes referred to as "the box", the spending level is not a given because it changes if the amount of tax money the state collects goes up or down, if some existing tax exemptions are closed or new ones are approved, if the need for particular services goes up or down, if more kids enroll in public schools. And more controversially, if new taxes are approved or money is taken from other accounts and placed in the general fund.

"Both sides have to agree on what would we do to get to that spending level," Schumacher said.

 Disagreements on the size of the budget is where negotiations bogged down in the regular session, and in the late (not so great) first special session.

He said it was "quite possible" legislators could reach an agreement on the spending level by Friday, which would set the stage for more detailed discussions on how much to spend on particular departments or programs, and a budget proposal that could be put to a vote by next Friday.

Inslee right now is acting as a referee in the talks, not taking sides, Schumacher said. That keeps discussions cordial among legislators who have been publicly sniping at each other's budget plans.

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