Community Input

My name is Gary O[], resident of Battle Ground, Washington. I am writing to urge the removal of Amendment Proposal 26-08: Requiring Supermajority Council Approval for County Taxes

I am opposed to this amendment because on its face, it is misleading. Supermajority is defined as 2/3rds, but in practice the threshold is much higher. On a 5-person board for instance (as the case of the Clark County Commission), the supermajority as defined would require 4 votes, or 80%. That is minority rule, not democracy.

As to 26-08: I urge each Commissioner to ground their vote in a clear understanding of the severe and escalating fiscal distress confronting Clark County. During the 2025 budget process, the County Manager warned of an ongoing structural deficit and stated that her recommended budget sought to limit service impacts while addressing critical needs. She also emphasized that this approach is not sustainable. Departments were advised to prepare for future shortfalls, and without revenue adjustments—such as the property tax levy increase that was not approved—the County will inevitably face service reductions.

These warnings were borne out during the 24 June 2026 Council Work Session on the 2027 Budget Process. The proposed reductions required for budget stabilization would significantly impair operational capacity, jeopardizing essential administrative functions, public safety compliance, and core community services. Rising mandatory costs further underscore the strain on the County’s fiscal system.

Compounding this situation is the emerging concurrency crisis. As reported by Ms. Phiel in The Columbian on 29 June 2026, Councilor Yung proposed an emergency ordinance to address a twelve-year accumulation of concurrency failures attributed to the County Engineer. The Clark County Charter (Section 3.40) strictly limits the scope and duration of emergency ordinances. In evaluating the rationale for such an action, I conducted a multi-model advanced AI analysis and encourage all Charter Review Commissioners to undertake similar review.

If Clark County adheres to the requirements of Washington’s Growth Management Act, it may need to identify between $400 million and $700 million to bring twenty-two failing corridors into compliance— exclusive of costs associated with eminent domain. Additionally, a summer construction moratorium affecting thirty projects could result in an estimated $20 million judgment against the County. This crisis also introduces substantial volatility into key revenue streams, including real estate excise tax, sales tax, permitting fees, and impact fees.

In summary, this is not the moment to weaken the County’s only reliable revenue mechanism or expose it to politically motivated obstruction during a period of acute fiscal instability. Please VOTE NO on 26-08 and let a Charter Commission- in the future- with the benefit of a stabilized budget reconsider the supermajority taxation question.

A disingenuous appeal to voters’ general aversion to taxes.

Supermajority votes are not appropriate for this. Legislative bodies operate on majority rule for fiscal decisions.

There are 5 councilors. A supermajority vote would require 4 of 5 to agree. This is an 80% threshold, not 60%.

This is not going to save taxpayers money. Not in the short or long run.

$22/year for the average homeowner is what the Council taking the 1% councilmanic tax would cost the average county homeowner per year.

$37,000,000 is what the county lost out on by not taking the 1% councilmanic tax for 6 of the 12 past years.

2.5% cuts to county departments and offices in 2027 due to the current structural deficit in the general fund. The lost $37Million would have covered these.

Services will suffer (such as permits taking much longer to be processed) and/or new revenue streams developed (such as new/increased fees).

The county runs lean and efficient, according to Councilor Little (last year’s Council budget discussion, 12/2/25) and he’s a self-admitted fiscal conservative.

Educate yourself: watch the 6/24/26 Council Budget Process Consideration work session, available on the Clark County Council website.