EVERETT — Despite sharing the same Democratic political stripes, Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon and a majority on the County Council continue to find ways to disagree.
On Wednesday, the County Council threw out three of Reardon’s vetoes over the county’s annual budget.
Until earlier this month, the council had never mustered enough votes to override any of Reardon’s vetoes even in times when Republicans held the majority.
“Veto overrides are serious stuff,” Republican County Councilman John Koster said. “Citizens expect this council and executive to work together. Building relationships is tough work but is very much a part of leadership.”
The council has three Democrats and two Republicans.
The veto overrides came as no surprise, Reardon said. The council is intent on raising the county’s road tax, he said.
The fight affects thousands of county taxpayers. By throwing out his vetoes, the County Council restored a 1 percent property tax increase on homes in the unincorporated areas of the county.
The move will raise an estimated $477,000 for road work and cost the owner of an average $300,000 home about $3 more a year.
The county has raised the road tax on unincorporated properties each year for 27 years.
Traffic is the county’s No. 1 issue, and the county’s road tax is a main source of revenue for road work, County Councilman Dave Somers said.
County officials estimated that road work costs are rising 11 percent per year, including materials, labor and property costs.
“We’re falling farther and farther behind in transportation,” Somers said. “To not take the 1 percent (increase) digs us deeper and deeper into a hole.”
The additional money will pay for improvements to North Road and Seattle Hill Road near Mill Creek and 20th Street SE in Lake Stevens, council members said.
The tax increase isn’t really going to road work, Reardon said. The council simultaneously shifted $400,000 from the road fund to pay for sheriff’s office traffic patrols in the general fund, Reardon said.
“Not only is it a tax increase that isn’t being spent on road improvements, it’s a shift and it’s unnecessary,” Reardon said. “Voters see right through this.”
The tax increase is definitely not going to traffic patrols, County Council chairman Dave Gossett said.
There’s money to spare in the road fund, which will have about $50 million, including a running balance of $20 million or so for projects spread throughout the year, Gossett said.
“These are two unrelated actions and (Reardon is) trying to relate them,” Gossett said.
On Friday, Reardon filed two vetoes targeting the road tax and a third over another part of the county’s $670 million budget for 2008. He called the council’s approval of a road tax increase “duplicitous,” “bait-and-switch” and “a shell game.”
Reardon also declined to sign several parts of the budget because he disagreed with the how the council would spend tax dollars. Those parts of the budget will go into effect without his signature.
All told, the council overrode four of Reardon’s vetoes within the past month. Three were on Wednesday and were budget-related, and the fourth was over legislation allowing council members to participate in two meetings a year by phone.
Reardon has vetoed the council four other times and none were overridden, notably including a veto of salary increases for elected officials in county government.
Democrats Gossett, Somers and Kirke Sievers led the votes to override Reardon’s budget vetoes. They were joined by the two Republicans, Koster and Gary Nelson.
The vetoes and council overrides convey unresolved conflict between the council and Reardon, Koster said.
Koster criticized Reardon’s “condescending” comments and “acrimonious” veto letter.
“I think we could avoid this kind of unnecessary conflict” next year with better communication, Koster said.
Reardon also vetoed a move to change control of personnel policies, which he said would prevent him from enacting a hiring freeze.
The only time he will be able to leave a position vacant is if the county proves it doesn’t have the money to fill the position, Reardon said.
The council also voted 5-0 to override that veto.
The legislation dictates how county jobs are filled and positions classified. The council voted to delete “approval of the executive” and replace it with certification by the finance department.
Council members argued that Reardon isn’t aced out of control because he directly oversees the finance department, which shares offices with him on the sixth floor of the county administration building.
If that’s what the council intended, then the legislation should have been written differently, Reardon said.
Reporter Jeff Switzer: 425-339-3452 or jswitzer@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
