Discussion Of Government Focuses On Incorporation
Many of the people who attended a Wednesday forum on the direction of local government had the same destination in mind.
Most agreed that local officials should provide more accountability and better representation and be more receptive and inclusive.
Which path to take to get to the magical place was a matter of opinion, however.
The Spokesman-Review sponsored the two-hour forum at West Valley High School. About 30 people, including a troop of Boy Scouts, attended.
A lot of people said they thought forming a city in the Valley was the best way to reach their governmental goals.
One man said it would be good for the economy and the residents of the entire county if the Valley incorporated. A Valley city would compete with the city of Spokane for development projects, which would drive costs down and save tax dollars.
“Two cities in the same county competing with one another is a good idea,” he said.
Another man, Tom Agnew of Liberty Lake, discounted incorporation as the best solution.
People in Spokane County should be coming together to maximize the community’s assets, including downtown Spokane, not splitting off in separate factions and dividing the area’s resources, he said.
“We will be taxing ourselves to death to create these other layers of government and other downtowns,” Agnew said.
What the county needs is a government that can address both regional and neighborhood concerns, Agnew said. Incorporation isn’t it.
Longtime Valley resident and businessman Dick Behm disagreed.
Incorporation should be given a chance before county residents begin talking about combining governments as proposed by the county freeholders, Behm said.
Several cities have been incorporated in King County recently, and the government there seems to be doing all right, Behm said.
Bob Blum, a former assessor’s candidate, said he didn’t think the type of government was the biggest concern as much as who was running the government and how.
Incorporating or consolidating won’t necessarily give people better governments, only different ones, Blum said.
“The way you get better representation is by electing better representatives,” he said.
Another man said he thought the state’s initiative and referendum law should be toned down.
It too often becomes a tool that vocal minorities use to foist their views on the majority and influence lawmakers, he said.
“The government should listen more to the silent majority and not just the squeaky wheels,” the man said.
People elect representatives to make decisions for them, he said, and if they don’t like the decisions that are being made, they should elect new people.