Recently, the Mental Health Advisory Board voted to recommend the Whatcom County Council should act on a 2005 state law which allows Washington counties to raise sales taxes one-tenth of one percent increase, ostensibly to go for mental health care and substance abuse issues.
In Whatcom County, we pay an 8.4% sales tax already, and there is pain run amok in the taxpaying public right now. One need look no further than the dismal performance of the recent school bond issues. There comes a point where the voting public cries out, "Enough is enough!! No more taxes!" This needs to looked at as an exercise of priortization for county government.
If this is a priority (and I'm not taking a position on that), then the County Council must look at what we are already doing and reprioritize rather than raise taxes. If they hope to raise another $3 million to add to the ten and a half million already spent on substance abuse and mental illness, then the County Council needs to find other areas of lesser priority and cut spending there.
Council will likely be debating this very soon, and if I'm not mistaken, they could pass the tax outright with five of the seven votes on the council voting to pass the tax increase. I don't have first-hand information on this (and may get emails from this posting) but I'm willing to bet that neither Sam Crawford nor Ward Nelson will support this tax increase. The interesting tidbit here is that I was told today by a source I'll not name, that Barbara Brenner is not willing to vote in favor of this tax either, but prefers to put it on the ballot in November. If this information is correct, then Eye on Whatcom applauds council member Brenner for taking that position. While we would rather just see this idea die in council, rather than endure the expense and time of balloting the issue, it is far better to put it to a vote of the people than to have the tax enacted as an edict from "on high."
Mark Twain wrote:
A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting its shoes on.
Mark Twain
Baron Miller wrote:
Grace ruins the idea that you are fully in charge.
Baron Miller
