Candidate favors holding back on tax increases - McEntire says he'd look hard for other options
News Release
October 20, 2011
Clallam County, WA -- The thing to do about a proposed sales tax increase to help fund law enforcement in Clallam County is to wait and see, said Jim McEntire.
McEntire is running to fill the county commission seat now held by Steve Tharinger. He said the commissioners seem open to 0.1% increase in the county sales tax proposed by the law enforcement community to lessen the need to cut $1.64 million from the 2011 budget level. The cuts would come from county courts, Sheriff’s Department, prosecutor’s office, county clerk and juvenile justice.
A staunch fiscal conservative, he would first look for other ways to bridge the budget gap now facing the country. Although admitting he is not privy to all the details in the county administrator's modified budget proposal, McEntire is uncomfortable with hitting law enforcement with around two-thirds of the of the entire $2.4 million in county budget reductions.
“I have a hard time validating the need to find cuts of this magnitude in a core item of local government,” he said. “I have long been on record that the last dollars I would cut, if I were already a commissioner, would be from public safety and health, as well as protecting the truly indigent, since that is why government exits in the first place. Those are County government's highest budget priorities.”
Instead, McEntire said, he would have asked the county administrator to come up with a different budget proposal than the one laid out on September 6, hopefully ending the need to impose the sales tax increase.
“This is not a good time to be raising taxes, if at all possible,” he said. “I’ve always said that the county should not raise the overall level of taxation in 2012, since inflation-adjusted median household income has decreased by 26% since 2003. Households cannot bear any additional costs imposed on them through higher taxation,” McEntire said.
“At any rate, the 2012 budget has to be prepared and approved as if this sales tax increase were never proposed or were defeated in a county-wide referendum. Let's wait and see what that budget looks like before we proceed with proposals to increase sales taxes."
“With my current understanding of the budget issues facing the county I'm not inclined to support any tax increase.”
McEntire was careful to say he is not ruling out a tax increase completely, but to do so it would have to pass several tests. He would support an increase if there truly is no other option in properly funding all of the core functions of County government.
Also, if the tax goes up, the county would have to find other tax cuts to offset the additional tax so that the overall financial load on households doesn't increase.
McEntire also would insist that there would be no moving of any funds away from law enforcement to other departments. That would only be setting up a financial shell game to fund lower priority items.
“Most important, the county must get a handle on what is driving cost increases in the law and justice budget and find ways to diminish the need for increased spending,” McEntire said. “We don't want find ourselves in this jam again in future budgets.”
Jim McEntire can be reached at 360-775-7357.