PORT ANGELES — The pros and cons of a general election ballot measure that would limit government revenue growth were aired Tuesday morning in a long-distance telephone debate between ballot-initiative activist Tim Eyman of Mukilteo and Clallam County Commissioner Steve Tharinger of Dungeness
Spearheaded by Eyman, Initiative 1033, which will be on the Nov. 3 ballot, was the topic at the breakfast meeting of the Port Angeles Business Association at Joshua’s Restaurant, which drew about 50 people.
Property tax levies already are limited to 1 percent growth without a vote of the people.
Here’s what I-1033 would do:
• Limit the revenue growth of cities, counties and the state to the previous year’s revenue plus annual inflation and population growth.
• Require voter approval for any additional increases that for a countywide measure could cost taxpayers from $3,000 if it’s on a busy ballot to $70,000 if it’s the only item on the ballot, county Auditor Patty Rosand said.
• Require any excess revenue collected by governments, including state and federal grants, to be offset by existing revenue that would reduce property tax levies.
County Administrator Jim Jones said during a question-and-answer session that property taxes account for 28 percent of overall revenue in 2009, but I-1033’s limitation also would apply to the other 72 percent of revenue sources.
Exempt federal revenues
Jones said in a later interview that the initiative exempts federal revenues from the state limitation and allows the state to make deposits to its rainy-day fund before giving back excess revenues as property tax relief — both advantages not available to counties and cities.
“That’s the killer for us,” Jones added.
During the 75-minute telephone exchange, Tharinger sat at the head table with a speaker the size of a packing box at his elbow while Eyman paced back and forth in his garage about 80 miles away, his 16-month daughter in tow and a cell phone to his ear.
Voter decisions
Eyman said voters can be trusted to make valid funding decisions if asked to do so under I-1033’s limits.
Taxpayers have been forced to ride a “roller coaster” of irresponsible spending, he said, adding that it’s too easy for elected officials to follow their instincts and raise taxes.
“Any restriction at all makes them have fits,” he said. “They can’t use the voters as bottomless wallets.”
Tharinger said the measure is overly broad and would create mandatory cuts in services when grants, for example, have to be counted as revenue that would be cut from following-year budgets.
He also questioned whether voters really wanted to vote on whether, for example, extra deputies should be hired.
‘Devastating’
“This is not well thought-out and could be devastating to Port Angeles and the county as a whole,” Tharinger said.
He said grants such as the recently awarded $500,210 Community Oriented Policing Services — or COPS — grant to the city of Port Angeles for two police officers would have to be subtracted from the city’s general fund next year under I-1033’s provisions, which would have put acceptance of the grant in jeopardy.
Inflation and population growth, Tharinger added, “have minimal correlation to expenditures.”
I-1033 also makes it difficult for the county to respond quickly to a crisis, such as a feared swine flue pandemic this fall, in which case the county probably would hire extra health workers and isolate schools, Tharinger said, adding reserves would not be sufficient.
Eyman said politicians were to blame for I-1033, overextending themselves when times were good and putting voters through financial crises when they weren’t.
“They always want more,” he said.
“When you can’t find a way to spend money as cost-effectively as possible, what’s wrong with going to the people who are paying the bill and explaining why it is you need something?”
The initiative guarantees “that the pie can grow only as fast as the taxpayers’ ability to afford it,” he added.
But Tharinger said, “It sounds like you want to make government go away and not provide the services.”
The question-and-answer session was heavy on comments from public officials.
Questions timing
Port Angeles City Manager Kent Myers questioned the timing of the initiative when tax revenues taxes are low and the economy is in a recession, while Port Angeles City Council member Cherie Kidd said the city next year will have to fire three police officers hired under the COPS grant if the initiative is approved.
Kaj Ahlburg of Port Angeles, who was instrumental in arranging for Eyman to be available for the debate, was the only person who spoke during the question-and-answer session who seemed to side with Eyman.
Ahlburg said if I-1033 is so “fatally flawed,” would Tharinger support any spending limitation?
Tharinger said, “We manage fine” under Initiative 747, the 1 percent limit on increases in property tax levies.
Eyman responded that government officials once complained about I-747 and now live under the cap.
“Opponents want you to believe government is a delicate house of cards and that the whole thing will come crashing down when voters say they have to have a limit,” he said.
“This initiative has more flexibility than we’ve ever done.”
He predicted that if I-1033 passes, “government will continue to grow but at a more sustainable and reasonable rate.”
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Staff writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-417-3536 or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
