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Residents tell council this is not the time for a sales-tax increase; conservation-district official urges voters to request ballots
Summary
During community forum on Jan. 27, multiple residents urged Pierce County officials not to raise sales taxes now, while the executive director of the Pierce Conservation District explained how to request ballots and said four candidates are running for one seat.
Members of the public used the council’s community forum on Jan. 27 to press the council on proposed local tax changes and to urge broader community engagement.
Resident Ken Paulson told the council he opposed a March proposal to raise the Pierce County sales tax by 0.1 percentage point and urged officials to look for efficiency savings before asking residents to pay more. "There's gonna be a proposal to raise this sales tax 1 tenth of 1% for Pierce County," Paulson said, adding that governments should first find and cut waste.
An online speaker identified by staff as Eric made similar remarks, telling the council the timing was poor and pointing to what he described as surplus state accounts that should be considered before raising local taxes. "If we need some money from somewhere, why don't we petition the state for one of these surplus accounts?" he asked.
Trayvon Dunmar, who identified himself as a PCO and the director of a research initiative focused on intersections of gun violence, housing insecurity and systemic racism, urged the council to expand constituent engagement on issues tied to the detention center and to broaden community roles in decision-making. "Pierce County's budget is mainly focused on public safety and criminal justice," Dunmar said, and asked the council to create more avenues for resident involvement.
Dana Coggin, executive director of the Pierce Conservation District, used community forum to remind residents how to participate in the district’s elections: request a mailed ballot via the district website or vote in person at an open house in Puyallup from 4 to 8 p.m. on Feb. 7. Coggin noted that four candidates are running for one seat and that ballots are available to landowners within the district’s service area.
The chair closed the community forum after the scheduled speakers and moved on to other business. No council action on tax policy was taken at the meeting; speakers were offering public comment for the record.
