IN THE WAKE of the voter approval of Initiative 747 in the November elections, Council 2 has a new task.

It is to make clear to everyone that there is a connection between the property taxes the public pays and the available services that public employees provide. "In spite of everybody's efforts, the public didn't see the connection," says Pat Thompson, Council 2’s Legislation/Political Action Director.
I-747 limits property tax increases to 1 percent a year without special voter approval.

"Local governments are going to be under more strain than they ever have been," Thompson says. "For a lot of jurisdictions, particularly the smaller ones, the cumulative effects of Initiatives 601, 695, and 747 combined with the economic downturn will mean death by a thousand cuts.
"And professional sponsor Tim Eyman, who personally gained $90,000 from I-747, is at it again with Initiative 776." (See Letter from the President.) I-776 seeks to roll back the licensing fees that were approved by the voters in Snohomish, Pierce and King counties, as well as any fees local agencies and counties charge for processing license tabs.

"As an organization, we now have to direct our efforts toward revenue and the budget process far more than we have ever had to do in the past," says Chris Dugovich, President/Executive Director of Council 2.

"We are working intensely at securing local government revenue so that our members' jobs, wages and benefits are protected."

Local governments are stressed more than they have been and they are not getting any help from the Legislature, Thompson adds. "The bail-out money for I-695 was a one-time appropriation from the state taken from their reserves, which are now gone."