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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Editorial: Counties’ revenue plight can’t be ignored forever

The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office has lost 20 deputies since 2008. Lincoln County is down five.

The story is much the same all over Washington, and the counties are making a late bid in Olympia for relief from a 1 percent property tax cap that denies them the revenues needed to keep up with expenses. The Washington Association of Counties says budgets have kept growing 3 percent to 5 percent per year despite workforce reductions and other measures.

House Bill 2255 was introduced Monday and assigned to the Finance Committee. The measure may be just a Hail Mary pass, but with futility the name of the game in the Capitol, why not?

HB 2255 would replace the 1 percent cap on annual increases in the property tax with a formula based on inflation and population growth. The maximum would be lifted to 5 percent.

For the city of Spokane, the difference between the allowable 1 percent hike and a potential 5 percent amounts to about $22 for the average homeowner.

Voters enthusiastically endorsed the 1 percent cap in 2001, when they passed Initiative 747 despite warnings the limit would do damage to local government services. Although found unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court, the Legislature took the hint and quickly imposed the cap on its own.

The squeeze on counties really took hold in 2008, when property values were scorched by the recession. Sales tax revenues took a hit, too. The effect on counties was particularly severe because they rely on the property tax for 60 percent of their revenues. Alternatives like a utility tax or business and occupation tax, which are a more stable source of funds, are not available, as they are to cities and the state.

To make matters worse, legislators have also helped the state to a bigger share of liquor tax revenues.

In the case of Spokane County, the pressure on revenues has been increased by annexations that swept commercial and residential property into the city of Spokane. The county employs 150 fewer people now, although technology has enabled officials to make do with the smaller workforce.

But other costs, such as pensions and health insurance premiums, have added $1.6 million to county expenditures.

The criminal justice system consumes 70 percent of county revenues, and the bad guys don’t take a tax holiday. Besides the reduction in deputies, the Prosecutor’s Office has 10 fewer attorneys handling more cases, many resolved by plea bargains that put criminals back on the streets faster.

The best attorneys are leaving for better jobs with better prospects.

Meanwhile, legislators are considering a property levy swap that would have taxpayers in wealthy, mostly urban counties paying more, and those in poorer counties less as a way of satisfying Supreme Court demands they amply fund education. At least as far as Democrats are concerned, a capital gains tax for that same purpose is also on the table.

The court will see to it that education comes first. Nobody may pay much attention to the counties. This year. But the Legislature cannot ignore their plight indefinitely if justice is to be served.