Cheney council supports I-976 opposition

CHENEY – The City Council has taken a somewhat unusual step and entered the political arena to oppose a statewide initiative that would reduce motor vehicle fees to just $30.

At its Oct. 8 meeting, the council adopted by a 7-0 vote a resolution supporting opposition to Initiative 976, perennial initiative generator Tim Eyman’s latest anti-tax effort. The initiative would not only reduce motor vehicle fees, it would also eliminate the 0.3 percent sales tax on vehicle purchases, lower electric vehicle and snowmobile fees, modify Sound Transit’s motor vehicle excise tax provision and remove authority for transportation benefit districts to impose a vehicle fee.

Revised Code of Washington chapter 42.17A.555 generally prohibits elected or public officials from advocating for candidates or ballot measures or using public resources to do so. The law does allow this advocacy if the action is “taken at an open public meeting by members of an elected legislative body or by an elected board, council, or commission of a special purpose district including” so long as “any required notice of the meeting includes the title and number of the ballot proposition, and members of the legislative body, members of the board, council, or commission of the special purpose district, or members of the public are afforded an approximately equal opportunity for the expression of an opposing view.

City Administrator Mark Schuller told the council the impacts of I-976 are “concerning to cities and the state when it comes to transportation.” Acknowledging that nobody likes to pay “exorbitant” amounts to license vehicles, he said the initiative’s passage could put area projects in danger of being completed, with others not under construction removed from funding considerations and “put back in the hopper” for the next legislative session to decide on whether to fund them or not.

According to the initiative’s fiscal impact statement by the state’s Office of Financial Management, passage of I-976 could cost the state almost $4.240 billion in revenues over the next six years, including over $2.317 billion to local government. It could also cost the Department of Transportation in excess of $2.846 billion in implementation costs in the 2019-20 biennium.

Part of those six-year revenue losses include an $88.57 million hit to the Washington State Patrol, and $275.58 million to three accounts that fund cities, counties and rural highway projects and grant programs.

Schuller asked the council to go on record with its position on I-976. At first, the council appeared reluctant to speak.

“I’ve got a comment,” Councilman Paul Schmidt finally said. “Here we go again.”

Schmidt was city administrator when an earlier Eyman initiative, I-695, originally lowered motor vehicle licensing fees to $30 in 1999. While succeeding at the ballot box, 695 was eventually tossed out as unconstitutional by the courts, but subsequently implemented by the Legislature, resulting, Schmidt said, in a $400,000 loss in revenue to Cheney.

That, and another successful Eyman initiative in 2001, I-747 which limited annual property tax increases by state and local governments to 1 percent, helped with the demise of the city’s parks and recreation department for a year. Residents eventually brought the department back through a ballot measure dedicating some revenues from electric rates to funding the department.

“This (I-976) has nothing to do with public policy,” Schmidt said. “It’s about Mr. Eyman lining his own pockets.”

Councilwoman Teresa Overhauser said the initiative wouldn’t stop the need to fund transportation, adding that in order to fix infrastructure the Legislature would likely reduce funding to other programs.

“It will not be roads affected, it will be all programs,” she said. “We’ll feel it.”

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].