Smart bombs: The $260,000 question

Try to hang with me as I wind through this hall of mirrors. In 2005, Spokane voters approved a temporary property tax increase to, among other things, forestall layoffs at the Police Department.

This was on the heels of 26 officer positions being cut the year before. But the temporary tax increase wasn’t enough to cover the budget shortfall, and the public wouldn’t have passed it if still meant layoffs, so the tax on utilities – water, garbage, and sewer – was subsequently increased from 17 percent to 20 percent to bridge the gap.

Still with me? Let’s continue. In December, the City Council approved the mayor’s budget, which included four new police officer positions after the public made it clear that public safety was its top priority. After all, it’s difficult to get police officers to respond to a property crime, which is the type of violation that affects most of us.

Meanwhile, the mayor announced in March that he would allow the two-year property tax to expire. He also said he supported returning the utility tax to its 2005 level.

And, as we round the last corner, we find that $260,000 Matrix consulting study has concluded that the city could do without 10 police officers.

Lost? Me, too. Does this mean the city should’ve left taxes where they were and cut 10 police officers two years ago? Or, the Matrix folks have lower expectations for public safety than the public itself? Or, election-year politics is once again taxing logic and common sense?

How do we pay for it? “You can’t have it all.” That was a headline on a short weather item at The Spokesman-Review’s Web site on Friday, which began: “OK. So it’s going to be cloudy today. Get over it because it’s also going to be almost 70 degrees in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene.”

This idea of wanting it all struck me as I took a noon stroll through Riverfront Park. On the north bank loomed the condo project that blocks some views of Spokane Arena. On the south bank is the YMCA, where another condo developer wanted to build a tall structure. I imagined what it would be like if both projects bracketed the falls. I’d get over it. It wouldn’t ruin my trips to that glorious place.

In a perfect world, governments would just say no to all such ventures and move on. But, then, how do we pay for stuff? Economic development boosts tax rolls, which makes it possible to pay for services.

The S-R is wrapping up a monthlong project on child abuse, and there are some promising remedies. But they all require money. We can’t just say no to all revenue-generating ventures and hope to have the budget to sustain a compassionate society. And yet, I find that many times it’s the compassionate among us who choose to focus on the wispy clouds when it’s 70 degrees.