Yesterday the Washington State Senate Ways and Means Committee held a public meeting about a possible income tax for the state. This tax would be 4.5% on all income for anyone making over $200,000 a year. In other words if you make $200,000 a year your income tax would be $9,000. The reasoning given by Senator Lisa Brown was "I think we have all along thought that voters would probably like to see more equity in our tax system and that was held up by what happened in Oregon." Oregon recently raised taxes on those making over $250,000 a year.
There is so much wrong with this. Here is a short list.
1. It voilates the Constitution as explained by the Supreme Court because it does not equally tax property (money is defined as property by the court).
2. It punishes those who are more suscessful thus rewarding mediocraty.
3. They did not provide the bill to the public until a couple of hours before the hearing.
4. They did not even give 24 hours notice of the public hearing.
Senator Margarita Prentice stated: "Best of all, it allows us to make the tough decisions we need to make in Olympia right now while allowing voters to decide whether to fundamentally change our tax system."
Here is a novel idea. Instead of "fundementally changing" our tax system, how about we fundementally change the elected officials in Olympia. These are the kind of things the voters will remember...we promise!
Just did a little test. I found that when I removed the ability to post anonymously that no one posted. Apparently you all enjoy your anonymity.
ReplyDeleteThe anonymous posting ability has been restored. Enjoy
Point taken.
ReplyDeleteMike
I really think the folks in Olympia and Duvall for that matter are no longer in touch with the desires of the people. It is obnoxious that they think they can just continue to tax us to satisfy their need to spend and please special interests. Government should provide minimal services and should stay out of the lives of people as much as possible. We need to get some people in who understand this.
ReplyDeleteMike
Rob,
ReplyDeleteNow that you've revealed yourself as the main person behind this blog, I'm curious to know why you spend so much of your time and energy trying to influence the politics here. I've lived in Duvall for the past 27 years. Why should I care what you think when you don't even vote here?
Hillary
Hillary,
ReplyDeleteThat is a good question. It is true that I do not live within the city limits but I still consider this my town. I have lived in this area for 6 years, my kids go to school here, my wife works here and we shop here. There are many of us who do not live within the city limits who care a great deal about what happens here. Duvall is my home town and I love it. I want it to be the best town we can be.
This may be a surprise but I don't expect you to care what I think about issues but I do expect you to care about the issues. This is your town too. Let's make it the best town we can.
I do not live inside city limits. My children play in the parks here. They attend schools here. I frequently shop at small businesses here. Many of my friends live within the city of duvall. I lived in Duvall in the 70's. I marched in the bicentenial parade down mainstreet. I moved away and came back to raise my children in an area I am proud to call home. I am involved because I do not have a vote in the city. All I have is my checkbook and my voice. Regina
ReplyDeleteRob,
ReplyDeleteI can appreciate that you (and Regina) have significant ties to the community even though you don't live within the Duvall's city limits. I agree that we should all be concerned with the issues that affect Duvall and all of us who call it home. But I am struck by how often your blog strays from discussing the issues and instead tries to pick a fight with the city council and sometimes individual members or even city staff. The previous post where you cite the municipal code is an example.
It is immediately obvious that to make your claim of unlawful activity by council you chose to ignored the portion of the sentence that followed your highlight which states "or as otherwise determined by city council in its rules or council procedures." But, more importantly, how does the manner of assigning council committees have any bearing on the public good or quality of our local governance? This is just a procedural matter that I think the council can be trusted to work out for themselves. What sort of citizen would be interested in something so arcane? To me an issue worth considering is something like will the new library still be located in old town. That's an example of an issue that would be of genuine interest to many in this town.
My impression is that you are motivated by more than just making Duvall the best that we can. Maybe you have an agenda, maybe just a grudge against city hall. I don't know. But you should appreciate that we who actually live in Duvall get suspicious when someone who doesn't goes to the extremes that you are doing. All that you have accomplished is cost us local taxpayers the billable time of the city's attorney with your recent complaint.
If you really cared about Duvall you would find a more constructive way to contibute to the betterment of the community.
Hillary
Hillary,
ReplyDeleteThe part of the sentence that you are referring to relates to the time which a council member serves on the committee not the way the committees are chosen. It is clear that the council has decided to only have members serve on committees for a year rather than the term of the council member (usually 4 years).
This is a vitally important matter because the council violated the law. It does not matter how small the violation is, the important thing is they broke the law. This is of vital importance to local governance for many reasons which I am sure you understand, not the least of which is if they are willing to violate the law on this, what else are they willing to break the law for? I have lost a great deal of trust in this council and the mayor for failing to recognize this point and take appropriate action. And to put a fine point on this, I do not feel that violation of the law should be considered arcane.
I do understand that you may see my motives as suspicious. I would encourage you to continue this dialogue so you can better understand what it is I am trying to accomplish. I truly want the citizens of Duvall to be concerned about what there elected officials do. I want them to watch them, to speak to them, to engage them and to remind them from whence they get their authority. I want those of you who live in the city I call home to care what happens.
I feel that if I am able to ensure that the city council follows the law and all it costs is a few billable hours from the city attorney then this is money well spent. No city council should be above the law or should feel that they can just change the law after the fact if they do not like it. And just for the record the city attorney said I was nit picking but he did not say that the city followed the law. In fact he asked if I thought the citizen even cared. This seems like a sad state of affairs when the city attorney can not defend the actions of the council to the people.
I genuinely do care for Duvall. Please help me to understand what ways you feel that I can more constructively contribute to the betterment of the city. I do not wish to harm the city but I do expect the council to have integrity, honesty and obedience to the law. I would hope that these ideals are still in the best interest of the city.
Hillary,
ReplyDeleteThe location of the library is decided by the county because it is a county library. I suppose if Thomas focused more on county issues then that would come up more often.
Brad
Hi Hillary,
ReplyDeleteI think it's perfectly acceptable for people near Duvall to ask questions of the city council and raise awareness. I also consider it acceptable for them to post election campaign signs outside of city limits along 203, the south side of Big Rock Road, etc. to encourage voter turnout even though the property used for campaigning isn't in city limits.
If the city were to try and incorporate some of the surrounding land to make Duvall a larger place, the owners of the impacted land would certainly want to have some awareness of who their new government is, and how they have behaved in the past.
Rob,
ReplyDeleteThanks for clarifying the distinction you are making about the municipal code sentence. Had you highlighted all the way through "for the respective term of the council members so appointed" I would have better understood your point in the first place. But the sentence does continue with "or as otherwise determined by the city council in its rules and council procedures." That says to me that the council can appoint committee assignments in any manner it chooses and for any length of assignment it decides. Was this year any different than past years? I am under the impression that committee assignments have always been subject to annual change but am not certain of that. It seems to me that if council members serve on different committees over time they will gain a broader understanding of local governance and make better decisions as they become more experienced. Do you have a problem with that?
Sorry to disagree but you ARE arguing a very arcane point here and I don't see how our council and mayor have let the citizens down on this matter. I can only assume that you are unhappy for some specific reason about committee assignments on council this year in particular. Would you mind explaining why that is so?
Hillary
Hillary,
ReplyDeleteThis year was different than prior years. The council has to the best of my knowledge always voted on committee assignments. This year on the apparant whim of Glen Kuntz the process was changed.
I agree that the council should chane assignments periodically to make them well rounded and knowledgable about the issues in the city. I also think that if a councilmember has a particular area of expertiswe that this could be a valuable addition to certain committees and as the councilmembers are assigned to multiple commitees this seems like a balanced approach.
Perhaps you are correct about the point being arcane. The definition of arcane is "known or understood by only a few." Under this definition it would be true that only a few people know that the council violated the law. and only a few people seem to understand the implications of it.
I really have no preference what committees the councilmembers are assigned to. My sole point in discussing this issue is to bring out the fact that the council did not follow the DMC and when questioned about it the mayor said he was working with Gary Gill to define his roll and if they needed to change the DMC then they will.
I am of the opinion that if the government wants to change the law they should do it before they act not after they violate it and they want to make it look like they didn't do anything wrong.
So you were let down by the council. They should obey the law. They did not. They let you down and everyone else who ever voted for them, supported them or believed in them.
Hillary,
ReplyDeleteRob Millard isn't really going to tell you why he is so determined to influence Duvall's City Council, so I will. The LDS Church owns a piece of property outside the city limits and wants to build a church there in the near future. If the property can be annexed into Duvall then the city would be obligated to pay for a sewer connection and other improvements to the property--at local taxpayers expense--enabling plans for the church to move forward. As an elder in the local ward, Rob Millard has been given the mission of promoting candidates for City Council that would vote in favor of such an annexation ahead of those properties already pending for development consideration. This is the real reason John Durant was a candidate in the last election. Part of the reason he lost was that many voters came to realize that a minority group with a political agenda was trying to quietly take over City Council. When both John Durant and Anne Laughlin lost in the election it was a major setback for the LDS Church plans.
Most of the regular writers to this blog, including Mike and Bart, are also LDS Church members. They and Rob Millard talk a lot about smaller government and lower taxes, but they are of course eager to have their own special interest be paid for by local government.
Lance
Wow...for all of the talk about fiscal responsibility, I cannot believe what I am hearing. This dwarfs any talk of city parks, tax increases, impact fees etc. Simply jaw-dropping if this is true.
ReplyDeleteI had originally intended to not post Lance's comments but in hind sight I believe that there are several important points that need to be made.
ReplyDeleteI am disappointed and disgusted that the best argument you have against my position is to attack my religion and to spread your blatantly untrue statements about my church and other people who post here. I have absolutely no problem with you challenging my ideas or positions but I will not allow these unfounded slanderous comments to go unanswered. In the future this type of posting will be deleted and will not be tolerated. If this is the type of dribble you enjoy making up please do so on your own site.
so to address the errors in your posting.
1. Your assumption that the annexation of the property has anything to do with the sewer system is in error. The biggest advantage is the permitting process in the city is considerably faster than the county process which would save our members thousands of miles in travel every year as we currently drive to Redmond or Carnation for all our meeting.
2. I have not been given any mission by the church relating to my political activities. They are very neutral in the political process. If they were otherwise they would loose their tax exempt status. To be clear nothing I say or do in the political arena has anything whatsoever to do with my Church. They have not and will not ask me to do any political work for them or on their behalf.
3. John Durant's decision to run for city council was not based on anything other than a desire to make the community better. Once again to be clear, he was not asked to run by the church and he was not recruited to run by me. He called me after he had made his decision to run.
4. The election results had no effect on any plans the Church has for building a church in Duvall. The Church is not a political entity and it will work with whatever elected body that the city has.
5. Your assumption that most of the people who comment on the blog are members of my faith is clearly a supposition without evidence.
6. The assumption that the Church needs to be funded by the government in any way shows a surprising lack of information on your part.
Lance,
ReplyDeleteOne more error. I am not LDS. Lets work on the accuracy shall we?
Mike
Lance -
ReplyDeleteIt's true, I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS). That's about the only true thing in your comment. The LDS church does not permit the use of it's membership lists, buildings, or resources to further any particular political agenda. The only thing relating to politics that I have ever heard mentioned at any church service or event was a reminder to take time to vote and a reminder of when and where the polls can be found.
My opinions and ideas for what should happen in Duvall have not been given to me or assigned to me by the LDS church. Obviously, based on Mike's comment you are simply guessing at what religion people are, and you are making wild claims and assumptions to support your ideas. You happened to be correct about my religion, but nothing else. I sure hope that you don't use the same process when voting, although enough people using this method it might explain some of the people that manage to keep getting re-elected despite obvious ethical problems.
Unbelievable. I can't believe this conversation has turned to blatant lies and allegations. I am WELL aware of the way the LDS church works and how they are trying to buy land in the Duvall area, note they do NOT own land but are indeed hoping to purchase land in the future. I am also aware of the role Rob Millard plays in the church. He is a CUB SCOUT LEADER for Pete's sake. Are you truly accusing him of using his position in the church as a reason for being involved in the city?
ReplyDeleteThere are MANY members of the LDS church who are looking forward to the day we don't have to drive to Carnation or Redmond Ridge to attend church. We have a very strong congregation that serve in many different roles in the community. The land and the building will be bought not soley by the moneys from the local LDS community but by the World-wide church. I really don't think the multi-billion dollar church is concerned with who is going to pay for sewer hook-up. That is absolutely absurd.
Please pick a topic and stick with it rather than thinking of any possible way to discredit a person.
I'm surprised (but not) by how another fair question got completely derailed. Why, when the topic was about State tax changes, did Hillary feel the need to say "Why should I care what you think when you don't even vote here?" That's not nice or fair. Rob lives in WA state. The concern about state taxes applies to him. Also, you should care, if you care about the town in general about what others think.
ReplyDeleteOne of the big questions City Council has addressed in past months is how to get out-of-town business to Duvall. How would it sound if we ran ads to get friends from Woodinville, Monroe, and Carnation to come to the Sandblast Festival or Duvall Days and then printed, "But, Why should I care what you think when you don't even vote here?"
Open your eyes and stop being defensive. Opinions other than your own matter. - C. Durant
And though I hate to continue a terribly derailed thread, I feel the need to respond to Lance's incredibly dishonest comment. In addition to what has been said to defend the LDS church and Rob Millard, I want to say that my husband John Durant did not run for City Council with any religous agenda. Nor did he run with any pressure or support of the church.
ReplyDeleteThe fact, Lance, that you say this had anything to do with his loss lets me know that you have propogated a lie for Elizabeth Walker's political gain and you hope to continue to do so here. Walker's advocates presented John as being in league with developers - and that was completely untrue. They spread half truths about his status as a gun owner. They tried to scare voters with negative campaigning. I really thought that in our little town, people would come to look for the truth and see beyond the lies.
That didn't happen. And now that I witness the treatment of Rob, I fear that I gave Duvall too much credit and gave the Walker crew too little. They are more powerful (and less honest) than I suspected.
-C. Durant