Dollars And Cents, If The Charter Passes

Here’s what the proposed citycounty charter says about money issues:

The consolidated government could levy a business and occupation tax countywide, but not without a public vote. County governments cannot use the B&O tax; the city of Spokane does not currently have one.

The government could levy a utility tax, which the city uses to collect about 20 percent of its budget. County governments cannot levy utility taxes.

Government debt would be limited to half of what’s allowed under state law.

The charter requires a public vote before government could sell bonds that are more than 10 percent of the general fund. The government could sell the bonds without public approval if 11 of the 13 council members agreed.

The charter requires public approval of bonds of any amount, once the government’s unvoted debt hits 1.5 percent of the assessed value of property in the county.

If the city and county were limited by that cap, they could not sell any more bonds without a public vote. Their combined debt is slightly higher than 1.5 percent of property value.

The government could levy higher taxes inside the “urban services area” than outside that boundary. More services would come with the higher taxes.

Eight percent of the city-county budget would be earmarked for parks.

Currently, the city uses 8 percent of its general fund for parks. The county does not have a set-aside for parks, but gave them 1 percent of its budget in 1994.

Spending for parks in 1994 would have increased $4 million if the 8 percent minimum had been in effect. The money would have come from other county departments.

The charter promises that no city or county workers will be laid off, or lose wages or benefits, for at least two years. That guarantee doesn’t apply to department heads.

The charter would not affect the way taxes are levied and collected by small towns, schools and other special taxing districts.

, DataTimes