Lynnwood Mayor Mike McKinnon fears that his city’s voice will not be heard at the state Capitol without a lobbyist.
He wants to hire one within the next month to fight potential changes in state law that could cost the city millions of dollars in sales taxes.
McKinnon has recommended that the City Council spend up to $10,000 on a lobbyist to protect Lynnwood’s interests during the current legislative session. If approved, it would be the first time in 16 years that the city would have a paid lobbyist in Olympia.
But some council members oppose McKinnon’s idea.
“There’s no bang for your buck,” Councilman Jim Smith said. “Lobbyists cost a lot of money.”
McKinnon’s concern is that lawmakers are talking about changing how the state collects and distributes sales taxes to cities and counties.
“It’s almost a given that the state Legislature, at some point in time, will change the state sales tax,” McKinnon said.
Lawmakers introduced a bill on Monday that would cost the city up to $1.5 million a year in sales tax revenue. A similar bill proposed last year – but not passed – would have cost Lynnwood up to $1.2 million.
Before the bill was introduced, City Council President Loren Simmonds said in a phone message that he did not believe it was not necessary to hire a lobbyist. He did not return repeated calls for comment since the new law was proposed.
As president, Simmonds sets the council’s agenda. No vote on a lobbyist was scheduled as of Friday.
In 2004, when the sales tax issue surfaced, the mayor and the council agreed on the need for a lobbyist but did not hire one.
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