Council 2 will work hard to protect its members from the impact of Initiative 695. Protecting their jobs will be the first priority.

That’s the pledge as the Washington State Legislature prepares to meet for its 2000 session, which starts on Jan. 10.

Time will be of the essence as the session is a short one.

The initiative, which lowers auto tabs to $30 a year, was approved by voters in November. It will sharply reduce revenue from the Motor Vehicle Excise Tax, which was the state’s fourth biggest tax source after sales tax, business-and-occupation tax, and the state property tax. It funded a host of state and local projects, from transit and transportation to public health and criminal justice.

Council 2 members in local government face several concerns as a result of the initiative. One is layoffs. Another is the lack of funding for cost of living adjustments as well as medical benefits for the remaining employees.

“Council 2, along with other unions, will be working hard with the Legislature to find solutions to the loss of revenue,” says Chris Dugovich, Council 2 President/Executive Director. “We will work hard to make sure the impact on our members is the least possible.” While the voters might have stated that the license tab fees had grown to fairly significant levels, that does not mean that they want drastic cuts to public services, Dugovich adds.

Pat Thompson, Director of Legislation/Political Action, says Council 2’s concern is to protect its members in local government who are hardest hit by the shortfalls in funding that the initiative created.

“There’s a strong sentiment that local governments need relief to continue to provide the vital services,” Thompson says. “Just how that will be done will be the focus of the debate.”

Consensus will be much harder to reach because of the 49-49 tie between the House and the Senate, he adds.

Even though the I-695 debate will dominate the session, three other issues also will be featured.

• Retirement.
  
  Many meetings have taken place between sessions with the Joint Committee on Pension Policy, Thompson explains.
  
  “Our focus has been twofold,” he adds. “One is to decrease the retirement age from the current 65 for pers ii members, either through simply lowering the age, or through reducing the actuarial penalty for retiring early, which at present is 8 percent.
  
  The other is governance of the retirement system itself. “The whole system needs to change. We need a voice and a vote at the table where policy is discussed.”
• Collective bargaining for deputy prosecutors.
• Increasing the bid limits for local government work.