By Warren Cornwall
Herald Writer
The annual political battle over state initiatives got an early start Monday, as politicians declared war on the latest creation of anti-tax activist Tim Eyman.
Snohomish County Executive Bob Drewel, flanked by the mayors of Seattle, Edmonds, Arlington and Spokane, warned that Eyman’s effort to cap property tax increases could wreak havoc with libraries, hospitals, road crews and police and fire departments.
Under Initiative 747, local governments would be unable to raise property taxes enough to "keep up with past growth, not to mention future growth," Drewel said.
The gathering in the Mountlake Terrace Library marked one of the earliest, and what could become one of the most aggressive efforts yet, against a proposal by the Mukilteo initiative maven.
If the initiative qualifies for the November ballot, the opposition campaign may spend millions of dollars fighting it, said Chris Dugovich president of the Washington State Council of County and City Employees. The union representing statewide local government workers has contributed more than $75,000 to the No on I-747 Committee, according to state records.
The contest already shows many trademarks of fights over past Eyman tax initiatives. Speakers Monday warned I-747 could hamstring local governments, forcing cutbacks in vital services such as police and fire protection. Eyman, meanwhile, chided them for exaggerating.
"Do they disagree with the premise that property taxes are skyrocketing?" he said. "If they don’t like 747, what’s their alternative?"
The initiative would keep governments from increasing property tax collections by more than 1 percent from one year to the next, unless voters approve a larger increase. Increases are now held to 6 percent per year in most cases.
Eyman’s past tax measures have fared well with voters and poorly in the courts.
Initiative 695, which replaced the state car tax with a flat $30 fee and required voter approval of any tax increase, won at the ballot box in 1999. A year later, voters approved Initiative 722, which capped property tax increases to 2 percent.
Both, however, were overturned by court challenges from a variety of local governments and individuals.
The early appearance from opponents this time partly signals that I-747 could prove more durable in court, said Christian Sinderman, a Seattle consultant hired to run the opposition campaign.
If it passes, local officials warned the initiative would stop them from keeping pace with inflation, unless they held costly and burdensome elections.
"If 747 becomes a reality, I don’t know what we’ll do. I’ll have to cut police and fire," Arlington Mayor Bob Kraski said.
Property taxes are a key source of revenue for local governments, helping to pay for everything from road construction to library books. Local governments could lose as much as $463 million from 2003 to 2005 if increases were capped at 1 percent rather than 6 percent, according to a state Department of Revenue study quoted by initiative opponents.
Seattle Mayor Paul Schell said it was unrealistic to claim local services could be sustained with the tighter tax limits, even if it’s what people want to hear.
"I would love to be able to campaign saying, ‘I cut your taxes,’ " said Schell, who is seeking re-election this year.
Eyman, however, said the latest initiative is simply an attempt to give voters what they asked for with I-722.
"Because the initiative was overturned, it showed that the skyrocketing of property taxes is going to continue," he said.
Governments can also collect more than just the 1 percent increase, because tax revenues from new construction isn’t limited by the initiative, he said. If they need more, they can always ask voters to approve the increase, he said.
"They’re crying about lost revenue is going to fall on deaf ears," he said.
To collect the 197,000 signatures needed to qualify for the November ballot, Eyman said he will use a combination of volunteer and paid signature gatherers.
You can call Herald Writer Warren Cornwall at 425-339-3463 or send e-mail to cornwall@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
