Bond Too Costly, Opponents Say Vocal ‘Nay Sayers’ Group Hopes To Defeat City Street Measure
Saying they don’t like how Spokane city officials spend taxpayers’ money, opponents of a proposed $37.3 million street bond launched a campaign Tuesday to defeat the measure.
“They’re saying, ‘Trust us. We’re going to spend it,”’ said North Side resident Jonathan Swanstrom. “But there’s no guarantees on anything.
“It’s like me handing you a thousand-dollar bill and saying go ahead.”
Swanstrom joined city spending critics Dick Adams and John Talbott to form the “Nay Sayers” - an organized effort to defeat the street bond measure that goes before voters Sept. 17.
“Nay Sayers” stands for “Neighbors Against Your Setting Assessments Yearly Expensively Resurfacing Streets.”
About 10 people gathered at the intersection of Foothills Drive and Nevada Street to launch the group’s campaign, waving signs that said “Concerned voters say no new taxes for neglected streets.”
The group planned to attach some of its signs to city signs identifying roads that might be resurfaced with bond money.
“The name of the organization - Nay Sayers - by itself offers that it isn’t a positive approach to the problems of the day,” said Dale Stedman, coordinator of the “Yes! For Better Streets” campaign.
The bond would cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $630 over seven years.
City officials say they used to rely on state and federal dollars to pay for resurfacing. Those dollars have disappeared, leaving them scrambling for ways to pay for needed improvements.
“Why did they allow (the streets) to get this bad?” Talbott asked, adding that he knows the city needs more money to fix streets. He said city officials “don’t set proper priorities.
“They shouldn’t be raising our taxes until they demonstrate to us they are really concerned for improving city management.”
Adams blasted the city for raising top management salaries earlier this year and recently paying outgoing City Manager Roger Crum $17,600 for unused sick leave. He also criticized the city’s preliminary 1997 general fund spending plan that shows a $5 million increase over this year’s spending.
“My biggest complaint is the way they recklessly spend money without prioritizing it,” Adams said.
Acting City Manager Bill Pupo said the council has spent hours listening to residents talk about spending priorities. All those priority-setting sessions end the same way, with police and fire ranking at the top, Pupo said.
Nearly 50 percent of the city’s general fund spending goes to police and fire, with the next 25 percent devoted to transportation, libraries and parks.
“The policy question is ‘What do you want to cut?”’ Pupo said. He added that spending on travel and cellular telephones - past targets of criticism from Adams and Talbott - have decreased.
As for the preliminary budget, that’s just what it is - preliminary, Pupo said. “We’re projecting sales tax revenue increases and a slight, modest increase in property taxes.”
Also of concern to the Nay Sayers is the city’s reluctance to guarantee which streets will be resurfaced.
The city’s informational mailings on the street bond say the money will “improve more than 51 miles of city streets.” But how far the money will go depends on the condition of the streets when the work begins, city officials have said.
Some streets may need complete reconstruction - not just resurfacing.
About $2 million will be spent on residential streets and $31.3 million on arterials, said Phil Williams, the city’s director of planning and engineering services. The balance - about $4 million - will go for bridge projects, possibly including the new Lincoln Street bridge, Williams said.
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