www.kentreporter.com
September 30, 2011
KENT
OPINION
● QUOTE OF NOTE: “A hot dog at a ball game beats roast beef at the Ritz.” Humphrey Bogart
Listening and blackberry pie
T
he most recent verbal fencing match that broke out Sept. 20 at the Kent City Council meeting during a public hearing was a picturesque portrait of the communication problems that pop up with indecipherable codes and laws. I cover many cities and city councils and at times I feel like we are all popping crazy pills. Then I break it down and often I find badly written code, mangled law or some weird resolution at the heart of the trouble. One of the important facts to remember for those who want to throw hatchets at the other side is everyone has a story and things are seldom as clear as the voices in our heads. The property tax battle over the city and Kent Regional Fire Authority has been brewing for months and is a classic example. At the Sept. 20 public hearing, Councilwoman Elizabeth Albertson directed some very pointed questions at a couple of the speakers, and there was a considerable amount of tension on both sides of the microphone. Tax talk is always a problem and I’m pretty sure God doesn’t understand it. The Gordian knot of the story is both simple and mind numbing. The first casualty of this kind of fight is clear communication. In the simplest terms, the battle began when the fire department left the city and became its own taxing agency. That means one taxing entity, the city, became two — the city and the Regional Fire Authority. Here is where it gets dicey. There was an operating levy and $1 per $1,000 taxable property from that levy was collected by King County and given to the fire authority. This was done because of state law. Here is the heart of the argument. Albertson emphatically said the city collected less taxes and she wanted to see that in the paper. She is correct. The city collected less by $1 per $1,000 because of state law. The problem is the citizens saw an increase due to public approved bonds and levies along with the new fire benefit charge. Most folks are not going to dig into the fine Dennis Box Editor
OUR CORNER
?
“Will you vote for I-1183 to get the state out of the selling and distribution of liquor?”
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REPORTER
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Get the state out of selling liquor The Kent Chamber has taken a stand on Initiative 1183 due to input from our members who encouraged us to support the initiative. The chamber urges you to vote yes on Initiative 1183. The initiative will get the state out of the business of distributing and selling liquor and allow liquor to be distributed and sold by private businesses that meet certain strict requirements. This will allow the state to focus
print. They are going to look at a higher tax bill with property values dropping like a fat rock and start yelling. Business owners took a look at their bills and started crying foul, asking the city to give back about $5 million they estimated was kept by the city when the fire department left City Hall. I am not going to get into the minutia of that argument without charts, graphs and a confessional booth. The best avenue I can see is for all sides to take a step back and look at the other side of the story. Business owners really are on the edge. I’ve owned three business and I am in the process of starting another with my son if things work out right. Being a small business owner is scary, risky and a wrong decision can mean bankruptcy. That is real. Government officials are always spending other people’s money and it is a different way of operating and completely different perspective on survival. The council members on the other side of this debate are equally sincere and passionate about what they do. Spend a few minutes listening to Albertson and it is clear she works very hard at
doing the best job for the city she can. A person may not agree with her, but she should be given understanding for her side of the story. Think of the fun involved in juggling the ever shrinking city budget while facing one constituent after another asking you to cut all those other guys, but keep my program. This is why Albertson and others continue to ask where to make the cuts. Are there places to cut in a city budget? Of course, but there are trade-offs and some are painful. Citizens need to get involved and the council needs to encourage discussion at public hearings, not make people feel they will be attacked. Many will say layoffs are the answer, but that is just more guys out of work. These are hard problems with all of us facing higher taxes, more bills and crummy TV shows to watch. If we step back and listen to the other guy’s story, some of these insurmountable problems begin to shrink. My grandma had the best advice. Things always look better after a piece of fresh baked wild blackberry pie with homemade vanilla ice cream on top. That is the solution to many problems.
on enforcing state liquor laws and regulating liquor sales. Only eight states in the country operate and control liquor distribution and sales the way Washington state does. The state’s monopoly system was created just after prohibition and is long overdue for reform so the state can get out of the liquor business and back to providing critical government services. Ending the state’s outdated monopoly on liquor sales and distribution will benefit, both taxpayers and consumers. Under the initiative, a limited number of grocery stores and other retail stores will be licensed to sell liquor if they meet certain requirements. Eligible stores must have 10,000 square
feet or more of fully enclosed retail space or, in areas where larger stores are absent, meet other requirements set by the Liquor Control Board. The initiative prohibits liquor from being sold at gas stations and small convenience stores. I-1183 requires a retail store to demonstrate that it can effectively prevent sales of alcohol to underage minors in order to get a license to sell liquor. It increases training and compliance requirements for stores that sell liquor and toughens fines and penalties for liquor law violation. I –1183 also dedicates an additional $10 million per year to new revenue for local public safety programs, including police, fire and emergency services. The Initiative will generate an estimated $200 million more for state and local government
Andrea Keikkala
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COMMENTARY
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