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BUSINESS | Walmart to open second store in Bellevue Oct. 17 at Marketplace at Factoria [6]
Community | Bellevue High School marching band brings music to Issaquah’s popular FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2012 Salmon Days festival [2]
Sports | Seahawks return home to take on New England Patriots; try to build on Carolina victory [12]
Status quo budget seen in Bellevue Economy’s slow recovery means no cuts to services or any tax increases, layoffs
Maureen Judge, second from right, answers a question during a candidates forum Wednesday night, Oct. 10, at Bellevue City Hall. Candidates (from left) are 48th Dist., Pos. 1: Rep Ross Hunter and Bill Hirt; 48th Dist., Pos. 2: Cyrus Habib and Hank Myers; 41st Dist., Pos. 2: Judy Clibborn; 41st Dist., Pos. 1: Rep. Marcie Maxwell and Tim Eaves; and 41st Dist., Senate: Judge and Sen. Steve Litzow. Craig Groshart, (at podium), editor of the Bellevue Reporter, moderated the forum, which was sponsored by the Bellevue Downtown Association. PATRICK BANNON, Bellevue Downtown Association
Candidates outline views BY KAITLIN GROVES Bellevue Reporter
Candidates vying to represent the 41st and 48th legislative districts each presented their case for why they should be elected at a candidates forum Wednesday night at City Hall. The event was sponsored by the Bellevue Downtown Association. In their opening statements, the candidates emphasized a number of different points.
Legislative District 48, Position 1 Rep. Ross Hunter (D-Medina), who chaired the Ways and Means Committee during the last legislative session, emphasized his commitment to education, saying it was a major catalyst to launching him into state politics 10 years ago. His Republican challenger, Bill Hirt,
emphasized his commitment to stop the East Link project, which he called a disastrous project that Sound Transit has lied to voters about.
Legislative District 48, Position 2 Hank Myers, a Republican serving his second term on the Redmond City Council, said his top priorities were education, economic development, the environment, responsible fiscal management, transportation and human services. His Democratic opponent, attorney Cyrus Habib, who graduated from Columbia University, Oxford University, and Yale Law School and currently works at Perkins Coie representing startups, emphasized his commitment to working towards creative solutions for a stronger economy.
Legislative District 41, Position 1 Tim Eaves, a Republican engineer who has spent 15 years running a small business, said he’s challenging Rep. Marcie Maxwell for the position because he wants voters to be able to vote for a candidate who will represent the way they, “vote for their pocket books,” citing voter opposition to a state income tax and favor for a two-thirds majority requirement to raise taxes. Maxwell, a former realtor and banking branch manager, says that, if re-elected, she will continue to focus her work on business and education.
Legislative District 41 - Senator Maureen Judge, a Democrat marketing consultant and former
520 tolls? Few motorists care A new poll from PEMCO Insurance shows that nearly half of drivers polled in the Puget Sound region use the now-tolled State Route 520 bridge just as often as they did before the toll, despite projections from about six out of 10 drivers who said they planned to change their route to avoid paying the variable toll once it went into effect. In April 2010, PEMCO asked drivers in
King, Pierce and Snohomish counties if the impending toll would change their driving behavior, and 62 percent said they would use the SR 520 bridge less often. In reality, about half as many – 38 percent – avoid crossing the 520 bridge now
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The Bellevue City Council on Monday got its first look at a preliminary “status quo” 2013-2014 budget, which includes just incremental growth. The economy’s slow recovery means no cuts in services are in the draft budget, a marked contrast from 2011 and early this year, when Bellevue’s budget was “reset” and shrank by $24 million. The general fund, which covers core services such as police, fire, transportation and parks, is budgeted to grow 4.4 percent in 2013 and 3.2 percent in 2014. The council will begin discussing the preliminary 2013-2014 operating and 2013-2019 capital budgets next week, and will likely continue that discussion until they adopt the budgets in December. Public outreach continues, with the third and last public hearing concerning the budget set for Nov. 19. At Mayor Conrad Lee’s request, people invited by the council will participate in a focus group in November (date to be determined) concerning the budget. Highlights from the preliminary budget include: No general tax increases or layoffs proposed; New programs related to economic growth and competitiveness. Advances for many of the city’s most important capital needs, including parks levy projects, the Mobility and Infrastructure Initiative and East Link commitments; and proposed utility rate increases to fund regional wholesale cost increases and improvements needed to maintain service levels and system integrity; as well as proposed Development Services rate increases to ensure fees match the cost of providing services. The preliminary Capital Investment Program (CIP) budget includes $6.2 million reserved for emerging, high-priority capital needs for economic development and neighborhoods. Overall, the draft capital and operating budgets total $1.29 billion for 2013 and 2014. The preliminary budget is available at www.bellevuewa. gov/budgets.htm.
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