Legislation that would give counties more spending flexibility and new revenue sources to pay for human services and transit is expected to come up for a floor vote in the state senate today. The bill, sponsored by Debbie Regala (D-TK) in the senate and Ross Hunter (D-48)—a potential candidate for King County Executive—in the house—would:

•Allow counties to impose a utility tax of up to 6 percent in their unincorporated areas (currently, only residents of incorporated cities pay utility taxes), with natural gas exempted and electricity taxes limited to 1 percent;

•Give King County greater flexibility in spending the proceeds from its mental-health/chemical dependency and public safety levies (which can currently only fund new programs, not help sustain existing ones, such as drug court);

•Authorize a 7.5 cent/$1000 property tax levy to pay for transit.

•Mandate that cities in King County move forward with annexation of areas with 4,000 residents or more (like White Center) by 2014; and

•Mandate a state performance audit on King County by 2011.

King County is facing a budget shortfall between $40 and $50 million next year. Meanwhile, Metro foresees a shortfall of around $100 million. King County Council chair (and KC Exec candidate) Dow Constantine estimates that a 7.5 cent property tax could raise up to $25 million for Metro; combined with $25 million from the federal stimulus, that would get Metro just halfway to its goal. "We have to take a hard look a the choice between further raising property taxes and cutting transit service," Constantine says. Economically, "it's not a very good time to be raising people’s property taxes," he adds.