By Pat Jenkins The Dispatch Voters in Pierce County may have two ballot measures before them this fall that could put an end to plans for a new county government office building. A court ruling has cleared the way for a citizen-sponsored referendum that, if it makes it to the ballot, would ask voters to block the office project. Backers of the referendum have until July 1 to gather enough signatures of registered voters to qualify it for the general election in November. Meanwhile, an advisory vote requested by the County Council already has a place on the ballot. It will serve as a popularity poll for the project by asking if voters support it or not. The results of advisory votes are non-binding but are used by governments sometimes as an indication of public sentiment on an issue. Opposition to the project is centered mainly on its pricetag. The projected cost of the building, initially about $127 million in reports from county officials, has risen to $230 million with the addition of long-term financing. County Executive Pat McCarthy proposed the building earlier this year and received the backing of County Council members who authorized the project. But a group called Citizens for Responsible Spending launched a petition drive for a referendum to stop it. The county filed and later withdrew a lawsuit against the referendum, but two Tacoma residents also sued on the same grounds that a construction project like the general services building, as it's being called, isn't subject to citizen referendums. That lawsuit was dismissed last month by a Superior Court judge from Kitsap County, who was asked by Pierce County court officials to rule on the case in order to avoid any conflicts of interest for Pierce judges. The Kitsap judge decided the plaintiffs hadn't proven sufficient harm if the anti-office building referendum goes forward. To qualify the referendum for the ballot, Citizens for Responsible Spending must gather at least 24,427 valid signatures. In mid-May, the group claimed it was about halfway to that amount. The group is led by chairman Jerry Gibbs of Gig Harbor and vice chairwoman Kerry Hooks of Frederickson. Gibbs is a political activist who worked as a nuclear production manager for Puget Sound Naval Shipyard before retiring. Hooks is a member of the Frederickson-Clover Creek Community Council and the Frederickson Land-Use and Advisory Commission. She was appointed last year by McCarthy to the advisory commission. Gibbs called the recent court ruling "a victory for all tax-paying citizens of Pierce County who only want to exercise their right to vote before the county goes in debt for $230 million." The building, which would house 19 county departments and divisions, is planned for a location in Tacoma that currently is the county-owned site of the former Puget Sound Hospital. McCarthy and other supporters of the building say it will save public funds by creating a "one-stop" setting for county services and ending the county's practice of leasing office space around the county.
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment