County says I-1033 would have negative local impact

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Yakima County commissioners are concerned about the impact Initiative 1033 would have on county government should voters approve the measure in November.

Following a presentation by initiative author Tim Eyman on Tuesday, commissioners said the measure will hurt local governments when the real target should be rapid growth in state government spending.

State lawmakers struggled to close a $9 billion hole in the state’s biennial budget this year.

Eyman will make a similar presentation to the Yakima City Council tonight where, he said, he expects a more lively give-and-take about the initiative.

Commissioners said the initiative’s caps on revenue growth to the level of inflation plus population growth likely will mean cuts in services.

Revenues that exceed the limits set by the initiative would be returned to taxpayers in the form of reduced property taxes.

Because of sagging sales tax revenues, Yakima County currently is facing a potential budget deficit of more than $3 million that will have to be whittled down by the time a final budget is approved.

Commissioners are warning residents they will see cuts in services. Those cuts may center on law enforcement, the courts and other programs that make up law and justice and public safety. Those programs account for 80 percent of the county’s general fund.

Eyman, following his presentation and a commission study session that showed the initiative would have cost the county nearly $15 million had the measure been in effect since 2002, said the projection assumes commissioners wouldn’t have changed anything during those years.

“The idea is to change behavior,” he said.

But commissioners remain skeptical, urging voters to be well-informed about the initiative.

Commissioner Mike Leita described the initiative as a “simplistic approach” that seeks to limit growth by limiting revenues without taking into account increases in expenses that counties can’t control.

Commission Chairman Rand Elliott called the initiative a penalty on local governments for the state’s reckless spending.

He said Yakima County government has been conservative in its spending but now could feel the greatest brunt from I-1033,  if it is approved by voters on Nov. 3.

“There is an unintended consequence to local government that is doing a good job,” Elliott said.

Eyman framed the initiative as limiting what he called the roller coaster of budgeting in which spending leaps during good economic times and then must be cut when the economy is ailing.

He said I-1033 will get government off the roller coaster and allow it to grow at a rate the taxpayers can afford.

“Property taxes keep going higher and higher and government keeps getting bigger and bigger. The people are losing control,” he said, reading from a prepared text.

He agreed the initiative will pose a challenge to all layers of government, but he quickly added that local governments that find themselves short on money can still go to the voters for a tax increase.

“There is a safety valve. It there isn’t enough money, you can make your case to the voters,” he said.