State Sen. Maralyn Chase, D-Shoreline, and State Rep. Cindy Ryu, D-Shoreline, will host a town hall meeting from 2 to 3:30pm Saturday, March 14, at the Shoreline Fire Department at 17525 Aurora Ave N.
“These kinds of meetings are terrific venues for candid discussions of the issues and priorities important to the 32nd District and our state,” Chase said. “With the 2015 legislative session underway, we can discuss the critical issues that we are facing in Olympia.”
The meeting will include an update of
legislation action during the session along with questions and answers
to constituents’ concerns.
“It’s always a pleasure to hear directly from citizens and have a real dialogue about solving our common problems,” Ryu said. “I look forward to hearing your questions, comments and ideas for how to make our state a better place.”
Our senator and representatives have huge challenges ahead, as there are a lot of taxes in the offing. For SAN readers, this might include: (1) an additional $20 per vehicle license fee for cities to pay for road maintenance, which cities can impose up to $40 without voter approval (for instance, Shoreline residents already pay $20); (2) an 11.7¢ increase in gasoline taxes over three years; (3) a ballot measure from Sound Transit that could increase sales, property, and/or motor vehicle excise taxes; (4) for those in much of Snohomish County, except Everett, a potential ballot measure raising sales taxes up to 0.3% for transit, which apply to purchases in those parts of that county; and (5) whatever is decided for making up the billions for rectifying the McCleary court decision relative to funding education.
ReplyDeleteGiven the extent of taxes under consideration, it's even more essential that
taxpayers know what they're getting for their money. This could be accomplished by establishing a minimum of transparency and accountability standards for any agency that receives a significant amount of public funding and when they seek more. It takes courage to effect, but it would pay big dividends in building trust.