County citizens need to pay attention

Published 1:12 pm Friday, December 14, 2007

I was grateful to Aaron Reardon for watching out for taxpayers when he rejected the Snohomish County Council’s proposed 1 percent increase in the road tax for property owners in unincorporated Snohomish County. It is good to see that the county executive has a grasp on fiscal realities and in maintaining transparent budget transactions. Not having been a supporter of the executive in the past, he has now earned my respect.

Taxpayers in the county are already straining from sky-high taxes on overvalued real estate. With the uncertainty of the economy and the current death of the real estate market, it is difficult at present to escape this burden by selling and moving. To increase taxes currently for egregious reasons is really unconscionable.

County citizens already greatly impacted by unbridled development have had to shoulder additional taxes to offset the necessity for new schools, police, firefighters, hospital services and crowded roads that development has created. Although developers are charged hefty impact fees per home, which they generally pass on to new homeowners, this money is not mandated to pay for the impacts they create, as these fees when collected are also dumped into the general fund. This is legal. Until taxpayers demand from their legislators that impact fees must pay for the impacts they create, taxpayers will be facing this double jeopardy situation.

Legislators in Olympia are now priming for the upcoming session in January. Unless you have unlimited financial resources, I would encourage you to let them know your feelings regarding local governments not being forced to use impact fees specifically for these designated causes. Until they hear from their constituents, state legislators have little incentive to change the status quo. Local governments, including the County Council, can continue to raise your taxes for proposed budget items for which they have already received payment. Transparency in all government taxing and budgeting issues might serve the citizenry well.

Elizabeth Diedrick