Demise of Washington State Antitax
Measure May Not Benefit Libraries
The Washington state Supreme Court ruling striking down the antitax Initiative 695 may not mean relief for libraries that were hard-hit by the measure last year. The initiative reduced annual car-tab fees, a major source of revenue sharing for cities, to $30; since the legislature has already voted to lower those fees, the court’s October 26 ruling will not mean the lost funds will be restored.
However, the demise of the second part of I-695, requiring all tax and fee increases to be put to a public vote, could open the doors to increased funding for public agencies. Spokane Public Library Director Aubrey George told American Libraries that “there’s a potential for the city to raise property taxes by as much as 6%,” which is the current cap. In the wake of I-695, Spokane eliminated Saturday hours at its downtown library and cut seven staff positions out of a total of 110 FTE.
However, George warned, the November 7 ballot includes a “Son of 695” measure, Initiative 722, which would roll property taxes back to pre-I-696 levels and limit property-tax increases.
Posted November 6, 2000.
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