Government officials in Washington state predict the November 6 passage of Initiative 747 will have a devastating effect on local budgets, gutting essential services that rely heavily on property taxes, such as libraries and fire departments.
I-747, which limits property-tax increases to 1% annually unless voters approve a higher limit, passed easily even though groups opposing it outspent the initiative’s backers $945,000 to $657,000, the Seattle Times reported November 7. Similar initiatives sponsored by antitax crusader Tim Eyman, I-695 and I-722, were passed by voters but declared unconstitutional by the courts because they addressed more than one subject.
Washington’s Department of Revenue estimates I-747 will cost state and local governments $1.8 billion over six years. In King County, Library System Director Bill Ptacek said the measure would mean the library eventually will have to cut spending by 20%, affecting book purchases, computer access, and library hours, the Times reported November 8.
Although Eyman said he wrote I-747 carefully to make sure it complied with the constitution, some believe the measure could still be challenged. “It’s not necessarily clear sailing,” attorney and University of Washington law professor Hugh Spitzer said in the November 7 Times.
In view of the passage of I-747, as well as the weakening economy, Seattle Mayor Paul Schell asked all city departments other than police and fire to trim their spending by 4% to cut $24 million from the city budget. The Seattle Public Library board chose to make its $1.4-million cut by shutting down for a week in May and another in December rather than laying off employees or cutting back acquisitions, the Seattle Times reported November 9. Library staff would be on unpaid furlough during the shutdowns.
Schell stressed that he did not propose the library’s plan, adding that he would work with the board to “consider other options that would reduce the effects on schoolchildren and other regular patrons.” However, he said, the city charter places the final decision with the board.
Posted November 12, 2001.