YAKIMA, Wash. -- Hospital executives, health-care workers and administrators took a stand Tuesday against Initiative 1033, saying the measure would hurt services already suffering under state budget cuts.

"I-1033 would be a disaster for hospitals, health-care workers and the thousands of people we serve every day," Russ Myers, chief operating officer of Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital, said at a news conference at the hospital.

I-1033, which is before the voters in the Nov. 3 election, would cap revenue that state, county and municipal governments could collect from taxes and fees.

The revenue cap would be fixed at 2010 levels and could only rise to take into account inflation and population growth. Revenue above the cap would be used to reduce property taxes. Voters could approve spending above the cap.

Myers was joined by Anita Monoian, chief executive of Yakima Neighborhood Health Services, and leaders of the Service Employees International Union Local 1199, which represents health-care workers. Health care costs, they said, rise faster than inflation.

They said the initiative would force the Legislature to cut funding for Medicaid and the Basic Health Plan -- which provide coverage for poor and low-income residents -- and that, in turn, would send more sick people to emergency rooms.

Memorial could lose $11.7 million over the next five years if the initiative passes, Myers said.

Monoian said the cuts would add to the damage done by the 2009-2011 state budget, which slashed the Basic Health Plan by 43 percent.

Memorial, a nonprofit hospital, is absorbing $9.5 million in state cuts by freezing executive pay, leaving positions vacant, voluntary and involuntary furloughs and some benefit reductions. Yakima Regional Medical and Cardiac Center, a for-profit hospital, also sustained funding cuts.

Tim Eyman, the initiative's author, said government revenues would still be allowed to climb consistent with inflation and population growth. Plus, he said, I-1033 has a safety valve: voters.

"The voters, if they are convinced by elected officials that every other option has been exhausted, have shown that 70 percent of the time they are willing to say 'yes,'" Eyman said.

Representatives from Yakima Regional didn't attend the news conference but also oppose the initiative. "Along with WSHA (Washington State Hospital Association) and hospitals across the state, we oppose I-1033 as a measure that would have a negative impact on patient care," chief executive Monte Bostwick said in a statement.