Mayor Greg Nichols is proposing a new $1.8 billion city transportation tax. Among the benefits would be street signs, which are nine inches tall rather than seven inches. As the State Sloganeers might say, Waaaa?

We are already paying two Real Estate Excise Taxes, which are supposed to help support infrastructure. Part of this new funding would be from another increase in property taxes in an attempt to skirt the property tax lid which voters have emphatically declared to be their priority.

If we consider only public safety, infrastructure and administration as essential items we could eliminate $314.6 million from the budget. After police and fire shouldn't infrastructure be the highest priority for spending? Not Arts and Cultural Affairs $4.2 million, not Neighborhoods and Development $105.8 million and, sorry, not even Health and Human Services $117,4 million. $2,174,000 aids the homeless. $2,760,000 will help spruce up the South Lake Union area, we all know who's going to benefit most from that don't we? That doesn't include the trolley.

All of these things are honorable and well intentioned but shouldn't they rank below infrastructure in importance? I'm afraid that what we're seeing is the old smoke and mirrors which officialdom too often foists off on us. We're being told that the infrastructure will fail without an additional $1.8 billion in new taxes while much of the present budget is spent on things of less importance. Our mayor and city council need to take a long hard look at the priorities for our city before attempting to burden us with yet another tax increase.

Vote No on Seattle Proposition No. 1, the Transportation Levy.

The budget is available at: http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us/financedepartment/06adoptedbudget/default.htm

Tom Hope

Seaview