Richland Voters Balk at a New Benton County Courthouse
With taxes already high, Richland residents—even friends of the commissioners—oppose building a new county courthouse in Prosser, Kennewick, or Horse Heaven.
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Judging from the comments heard on every side, we have yet to find one man or woman in Richland who is in favor of building a court house in Benton county at this time, whether the same is constructed in Prosser, Kennewick or Horse Heaven. The burden of taxation is high enough without this additional expense, and the people of the county would like to see themselves on a much better footing financially than they are at present before such an undertaking is commenced. Even the most warm supporters of the commissioners fathering this project are loud in their denunciation, and it looks as if the majority of the voters ought to have some say as to how their money is spent.
“The burden of taxation is high enough without this additional expense, and the people of the county would like to see themselves on a much better footing financially than they are at present before such an undertaking is commenced.”
Benton County’s courthouse question was really a fight over taxes and who gets to decide public spending. The same argument—whether a growing Tri-Cities county can afford a new civic building and whether voters should have a direct say—still surfaces whenever local governments propose big-ticket projects.
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