Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon on Friday vetoed parts of the 2008 budget and declined to sign other portions of it.
It’s the second year in a row that Reardon, a Democrat, has declined to sign the coming year’s budget as approved by the County Council, which has three Democrats and two Republicans.
Key among the vetoes was his rejection of the council’s 1 percent increase in the road tax for property owners in unincorporated areas.
The tax increase is expected to raise $477,000 next year. The council voted to spend $400,000 of that money on traffic patrols through the county general fund.
Reardon called the move “bait and switch,” a “shell game” and “duplicitous.”
“The money’s not going to roads. It’s going to backfill the general fund,” Reardon said. “To make speeches that it’s important to fund road improvements, and raise the road tax while shifting the money over to the general fund is less than forthright.”
Reardon also left the main budget document unsigned for the second year in a row. Last year’s disagreement was over reserve fund policies.
This year, Reardon accused the council of errors caused by sloppy math that will have to be cleaned up with formal ordinances next year. He also blasted them for being “secretive” by not sharing nearly 200 budget amendments the day the council voted.
At the same time, Reardon thanked the council for agreeing on 80 percent or more of his proposed spending.
Reardon left unsigned the county’s annual and six-year capital plans for building roads and parks. He said he objected to the council’s move to add $130 million in roadwork to an already heavy load, and that the council wrongly assumes the county will have enough money for the work.
The vetoes and refusal to sign portions of the budget came as a surprise, Democratic County Council chairman Dave Gossett said. The bipartisan council unanimously approved the budget two years in a row.
“It raises the question of, ‘Can he work with anyone?’ ” Gossett said.
Gossett said he plans to review Reardon’s seven-page letter outlining his vetoes and positions. The soonest the council would publicly discuss what to do next would be Monday.
Reporter Jeff Switzer: 425-339-3452 or jswitzer@heraldnet.com.
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