Walla Walla Rejects I-912

Here I am writing yet another posting about I-912.

I'm sure many of you are getting quite bored by my constant focus on this issue. To be honest, writing about it over and over is certainly not much fun either. Yet the fact is there is no single issue on the ballot this November in Washington state more important than I-912. Period.

It is also important to remember that mail ballots will soon be available to vote on, so getting the message out about why people must reject I-912 cannot wait.

I-912 is not just a statewide issue, it is also a local issue statewide. Part of the 9.5 cents in the gas tax increase goes directly to cities and counties. If I-912 passes it would eliminate approximately 80 percent of revenue to be distributed to cities and counties, which would receive $120 million in direct distributions, compared to $682 million assumed in the 2005 transportation funding package.

On Wednesday, the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin reported that the Walla Walla City Council was going to hold a public hearing on whether it should take a position on I-912. On Thursday the Union-Bulletin gave a recap of the meeting. Their headline:

City Council against repeal of gas tax hike
No one at the Council's meeting spoke in favor of an initiative to ditch a recent tax hike

With all the talk about how I-912 had massive support, and proponents were going to "send a message" to Olympia, it doesn’t seem like there was anyone in Walla Walla interested in flying the I-912 flag:

The 9.5-cent gas tax hike passed by the Legislature is worth every penny it will raise to improve state roads and highways and make U.S. Highway 12 safer.

That was the sentiment of speakers at a public hearing Wednesday on whether the Walla Walla City Council should take a stand on Initiative 912.

During its regular meeting, the Council unanimously voted to have staff write a resolution saying the Council opposes the initiative that would repeal the gas tax increase.

Walla Walla expects to lose $125,000 a year to fix roads (the money must go into transportation infrastructure projects) if I-912 passes.

I-912 would also threaten $60 million earmarked for local highway projects:

This includes eliminating money for widening nine miles of U.S. Highway 12 directly west of Walla Walla, a planned cloverleaf intersection at Highway 12 and the Myra Road extension, and a planned cloverleaf intersection at Highway 12 and State Route 125 near Burbank.

...

Council member Dan Johnson said losing the money to widen Highway 12 could jeopardize plans to develop the RailEx plant near Wallula.

He thinks the RailEx project came about partly because plans to widen the highway between here and Wallula will make getting farm products to Wallula easier.

Cummins said the gas tax is essential to improving safety on Highway 12. He said there have been about 1,100 collisions on the highway in the last decade. Of those, 800 required an ambulance and about 33 resulted in deaths, Cummins said.

Council member Fred Mitchell said safety is the main reason he opposes the initiative.

"If 9.5 cents a gallon can keep one more family member from being killed, it's worth every penny," Mitchell said.

City councils all over the state are facing the same issues: the loss of much needed funds for road work, and the loss of vital safety or congestion relief projects in their area. This is not just a Western Washington concern. With over 270 projects planned around the state, the effects of I-912 will be felt all over should it pass. What happens statewide usually has a ripple effect on local municipalities, and I-912's ripples will be like a major wave that will hurt local governments, and all of us for that matter.