Submitted by the No on Proposition 1 Campaign
The Edmonds City Council voted 4-3 to place a proposition before the voters to raise the TBD vehicle fee by $40 — from $20 to $60. This is in addition to the vehicle fees already in place.
This is the most regressive tax the City of Edmonds is able to impose. There are no exemptions in this tax, like in the sales tax. This tax hits everyone with a car – employed or unemployed, homeowner or home renter. Thus it burdens younger and lower income families more than those better able to pay.
In these tough economic times, it is irresponsible to increase the financial burden on families.
The dispersion of the fee revenues cannot be held accountable. Of the 37 proposed projects, none of them are prioritized and they will take a minimum of 60 years to complete. A short, prudent list could be held accountable by citizens, as they would be able to see the results and measure the progress.
This fee/tax does nothing to address our current budget crisis. The city is facing dire cuts in operations — 100 percent of this tax will go to infrastructure. Voters will then be asked to approve a levy on top of this fee increase to cover basic government operations.
Additionally, this tax increase passes the buck to Edmonds residents. The Edmonds City Council should have addressed transportation funding and distribution of revenue a long time ago, but they failed to act. Instead, they addressed cat leashes. Instead of taking responsibility and fixing the problem, they want to pass the the consequences to the residents of Edmonds.
Regressive.
Short-sighted.
Unaccountable.
Vote NO on Proposition 1!
More info: https://noedmondscartax.wordpress.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/No-on-City-of-Edmonds-Proposition-1/152594118102606
The City’s official website originally stated it was a $40 fee, neglecting to mention it is a $40 increase. The proponents refer to the tax as a contribution. It is a tax, it is not voluntary. The proponents ( including the Sierra Club) argue that without this there will be unprepared potholes but most of the projects are not roadways but rather sidewalks/walkways and even traffic calming.
If passed, Edmonds is committed to the listed projects regardless of the changing roads needs over the coming 25-60 years .
This is a regressive, expensive poor written and Short-sighted ordinance. It is just wrong.,
Here is the link to the TBD and theprojects:https://www.ci.edmonds.wa.us/transBDProp1.stm
Please forgive me the poor writing above, my spell checker is always correct but the words it picks aren’t the ones I mean. (un-repaired potholes). Check out the official website and see for yourself what this over-reaching ordinance is about.
The TBD funding option is also a new source of revenue for cities. Could it be that you’re afraid of something new?
State and Federal governments are pushing more and more responsibility for funding improvemenat to the local level. The TBD feeis one such option for local citizens to improve their streets. It’s also true that I’m not being taxed to improve streets in Walla Walla.
That’s a good deal to me.