Mayor Terry Ryan said last week that he “took to heart” former Mayor Pam Pruitt’s comments that City Council members need to treat each other more respectfully.
Ryan said that Pruitt’s comments on insults and bullying “needed to be said.”
Pruitt told the council, “It’s OK to disagree. It’s OK to be passionate. It’s not OK to disrespect. Every council member has the duty to call a halt to bad behavior.”
Pruitt added, “I’m not talking about one person. Everyone has committed at least one foul.”
Pruitt said that she expects the divisiveness on the council to carry over into the August and November elections.
Sales taxes may have hit a tipping point
When new sales taxes went into effect a week ago, the sales-tax rate in South Snohomish County hit 9.5 percent.
This is hard on the poorest among us, who pay more of their income for taxable goods and services than more affluent citizens. Thus, the lowest 20 percent income earners pay 17 percent of their annual income in state taxes, and individuals in the top 20 percent pay less than 3 percent.
A 9.5 percent sales tax should tell people say that this is too much. It’s time to put more of the burden on those most able to pay.
This means a state income tax. We shouldn’t do this to close the current state budget gap but rather to reduce the sales-tax burden.
Eyman assails change in car-tax for parks
A proposal in the Legislature to keep state parks open with a $5 fee on auto license renewals drew a rebuke last week from anti-tax activist Tim Eyman.
People can already contribute to parks by voluntarily checking a box indicating that they are willing to pay $5 toward parks.
The proposed system would substitute the opt-in system with a system under which people would have to check a box to opt out.
Eyman notes that the state took in $700,000 last year with the voluntary donation system, adding, “That’s how much citizens are willing to provide.”
He said that opt-out system is particularly unfair to elderly and disabled people.
“It’s essentially a tax on the weakest among us,” Eyman said.
Evan Smith can be reached at entopinion@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
