Spokane OKs tax increase for bus system

Spokane County voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a sales tax increase to support the Spokane Transit Authority.

Sixty-nine percent of the ballots counted Tuesday were cast for the tax, with 31 percent against it.

Supporters erupted into cheers as they watched the first absentee numbers flash onto the television at their election party at the Steam Plant Grill downtown.

“You can’t have a real community of Spokane’s size without a bus system. It’s unimaginable. But now that’s not going to happen,” said a jubilant Greg Falk, co-chair of the Save Our Transit campaign.

The .3 percent increase — 3 cents on a $10 purchase — will raise about $18 million a year, about the same amount of money that was lost when STA stopped receiving any money from the Washington state motor vehicle excise tax.

STA officials warned that without the tax they will have to cut fixed-route bus service by 40 percent and paratransit vans by 17 percent starting in July.

A previous attempt to win voter approval of the .3 percent increase narrowly failed in 2002.

STA was able to use its reserve account to continue funding bus services after that defeat, but that account is now almost completely depleted.

Supporters of the tax increase credited their victory to the campaign work of a broad coalition of religious, labor, business and social service groups.

“It was an unprecedented effort with all these groups,” said Tom Robinson of the Spokane Alliance.

Opponent Joel Crosby said Tuesday night he was disappointed but not surprised by the election results, since the election took place during a low turnout month. Turnout was about 35 percent, according to election results posted on the Internet.

STA needed to reform but now it won’t, Crosby said.

“I don’t think it’s going to change very much because it has so much money it doesn’t have to,” he said.