Voters Reject Park Board’s $750,000 Tax Hike
Tacoma citizens shut down a massive bond proposal, citing a lack of transparency and fears of bureaucratic extravagance.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The overwhelming defeat of the park bond issue yesterday was not a repudiation of progress, but a lack of confidence in the park board regime. The people were in the dark. They had no definite statement of what they were to get for the $750,000. Since the advent of the metropolitan park commission idea, there has been so much blundering and extravagance the people want to know definitely before they will trust it any further. When the metropolitan board was elected, the politicians took a hand and the result has been as usual. Instead of money for parks, the board plunged into expensive offices, fitted up quarters like a palace, hired an expensive attorney, cocked its official feet up on the solid oak tables and watched the deficit grow while the parks declined. The failure of the park board to inform the public as to the facts led to suspicion and the people decided not to take any more chances until they know more about the situation.
“Instead of money for parks the board plunged into expensive offices, fitted up quarters like a palace, hired an expensive attorney, cocked its official feet up on the solid oak tables and watched the deficit grow.”
Tacoma’s long-standing skepticism regarding public spending and accountability for city agencies remains a central feature of local civic discourse. The 1909 suspicion of 'palatial' bureaucracy over direct service delivery echoes today’s debates over public resource allocation and trust in municipal governance.
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