The Tacoma Taxpayer’s Fight Against ‘Fake’ Legislative Wedges
Citizens and labor organizations organize against city officials accused of manipulating tax laws and misusing municipal funds for private gain.
The story, cleaned up
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An effort was made to bulldoze the taxpayers into paying taxes before the first of the year, with interested parties claiming a penalty would attach if taxes were not paid before January 1. The city treasurer's office has been particularly interested in this, yet many heavy taxpayers refused. When City Treasurer Boggs learned that a new legislative act provided that taxes need not be paid before April 1, he hastened to Olympia and secured a rider stating the law did not apply to cities whose levies were made at a certain time, like Tacoma. However, taxpayers employed counsel and argued that the constitution forbids such special legislation, rendering the treasurer's ‘joker’ of no avail. Meanwhile, the Trades Council is questioning why city funds are kept dormant in private accounts earning 10 percent interest for favorites, rather than being used to retire city warrants and stop interest costs.
“These sharpers pull wool and make sport at the same time. They divert the issue just as the water schemers diverted it.”
The 1894 struggle over municipal transparency and the 'misuse' of city funds by well-connected insiders echoes contemporary debates in Seattle regarding local government accountability and the influence of developers and private interests on public policy.
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