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Herald Editorial Board

Bob Bolerjack,
Opinion Editor
bolerjack@heraldnet.com

Carol MacPherson,
Editorial Writer
cmacpherson@
heraldnet.com


Allen Funk,
Herald Publisher
funk@heraldnet.com

Kim Heltne,
Assistant to the Publisher
heltne@heraldnet.com

Send letters to the editor by e-mail to letters@heraldnet.com, by fax to 425-339-3458 or mail to The Herald - Letters, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206.

 
WEEK IN REVIEW
Tuesday


Arlington brothers’ fight led to death, p...
Burn ban issued in Snohomish County
Woman found dead at Bothell house fire
Monday


Pearl Harbor's voices of the past
Taxes needed to close state's growing deficit?
Grant could help county's residents all be heal...
Sunday


Swine flu lingers, making traditional flu seaso...
Two vie to serve as Snohomish County prosecutor
Families get an early gift: free Christmas trees
Saturday


Gift charity draws Snohomish County families in...
Fears over commercial air service at Paine Fiel...
Donated safe gives Marysville museum a mystery
Friday


From behind bars, pal tells Colton Harris-Moore...
Commercial airlines would cause few problems at...
Fund set up to benefit children of couple kille...
Thursday


5 die of swine flu in Snohomish County
Red Cross honors acts of heroism, many by ordin...
Barista clothing rules delayed by County Council
Wednesday


Father gets 13 years in 6-year-old's fatal shoo...
‘One bad choice' blamed in death of 4 fri...
Reps. Larsen, Inslee split on Obama's plans for...
 

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Published: Friday, November 9, 2007

Don't even think about ignoring voters on I-747

What a slim majority of the state Supreme Court struck down in a bizarre ruling Thursday -- the six-year-old, voter-approved 1 percent cap on property tax growth -- the Legislature must reinstate as a first order of business in January.

If local political leaders think voters were sending an anti-tax message in Tuesday's election, they'll see a full-scale revolt if they try to take advantage of the taxing windfall the court handed them when it ruled Initiative 747 unconstitutional.

Gov. Chris Gregoire, a continent away in Washington, D.C., wasted no time Thursday in calling on local taxing authorities to assure her they would not raise property taxes beyond 1 percent in the upcoming budgets. With I-747 invalidated, governments from the state, counties and cities, on down to local cemetery districts, have built up plenty of unused taxing authority.

While we doubt many would go that far, some who are currently struggling to avoid cuts in services might be tempted to use some of that increased authority. We have one word for them: don't. Unless, that is, you want to inspire a distrust among voters that you'll never overcome -- and that's in addition to losing your job at the next election.

Voters approved I-747 in 2001 by an overwhelming margin -- 58 to 42 percent -- and most clearly still think their property taxes are too high. Most governments have adapted to the 1 percent limit, which under I-747 could be surpassed only with the blessing of voters.

The Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling -- with two substitute justices voting with the majority -- said that voters had the potential to be misled by the text of I-747, which told voters incorrectly that the measure would reduce the cap on increases in property tax collections from 2 percent to 1 percent. That error was unavoidable -- a previous initiative that had lowered the cap from 6 percent to 2 percent had been thrown out after I-747's final draft was completed, too late to change the text. However, the voters pamphlet explained all that to voters, and it's ridiculous to believe that voter confusion was responsible for I-747's passage.

The four dissenting justices wrote that "There is no confusion, ambiguity or uncertainty in this initiative."

Nor should there be any ambiguity about what must happen now. Local governments should stay out of taxpayers' pockets and the Legislature should reinstate the 1 percent cap. If they don't, voters' response won't be ambiguous, either.

1. Arlington brothers’ fight led to death, police say
2. Detectives consider slaps to father lethal
3. Woman found dead at Bothell house fire
4. Two teens hurt in collision near Granite Falls
5. Lottery win helps Lake Stevens convenience store owner pay bonuses
6. Everett man shot in groin; two men, one woman are arrested
7. I-5 car chase was result of driver's medical condition
8. CBS cancels ‘As the World Turns’
9. Jail inmates’ meal complaint omits a crucial fact
10. Locker dips toe in NFL pool
Enterprise Newspaper Snohomish County Business Journal
Zambian woman thanks students for their help
Food banks see rise in use
‘Making Spirits Bright’ in Edmonds
Wolfpack takes aim at state
Seahawks help students smile
95 and still volunteering
Sno-King joined by local TV king
Veterans back for Wildcats
Lynnwood seeks to plug $2 million budget gap
The Enterprise Online Newspaper


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