” Vote Impact: Unity Or Division?

If residents of the Spokane Valley want to create new cities and governments to run them, state law gives them the right to do so. Indeed, state policy encourages incorporation of urbanized areas, because they often need heavier-duty services and taxes than county government is able to impose.

But three times, Valley voters have defeated proposals to incorporate - in 1990, 1994 and 1995.

Here we go again.

On Tuesday, at a time when people are not accustomed to going to the polls, some Valley voters again will decide whether to incorporate. Not one city, but two cities. Not the whole Valley, but two little pieces of it.

So, what will voters decide? The answer depends partly on how many voters take part in the decision.

A tougher question is what exactly would happen in the days, months and years after Tuesday, if voters say yes. Unfortunately, no one knows. Nor has anyone tried particularly hard to find out. It’s been a low-key, low-budget campaign.

Some incorporation backers outline noble objectives, such as setting aside green space and park land. But city council members who haven’t been named or elected would decide whether to go for green space - or to welcome dense development that would bring more tax revenue to city treasuries.

The actual cost of creating, housing and staffing not one but two new city governments is a bit of a mystery. Supporters say the new governments would negotiate contracts with county government to perform for them the services county government performs already. That’s progress? Would the cost of writing and managing contracts add to the expense?

What about annexations? Would the new cities go after new tax base in adjoining neighborhoods that aren’t supportive enough to include in the proposed boundaries? Maybe, but Valley residents on the other side of the divisive lines these proposals would draw don’t get to vote on Tuesday.

How would the two new cities get along with each other and with the county, in the coordination of areawide projects such as subsidizing sewer hookups, funding needed sewage treatment capacity and beefing up arterials like Evergreen?

Maybe incorporation is the answer to the Valley’s needs, or maybe further reform to county government is best. That’s up to voters. But if reform is undertaken, shouldn’t its impacts first be closely analyzed, and shouldn’t Valley unity be the goal, rather than division?

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = John Webster For the editorial board