Apparently Mr. Axtell believes that roads can be paved without the money to pave them.

First, while it’s true that utility rates have gone up over the years, the taxes on those
utilities are not used to pay for road maintenance. They are used to pay for general city
services, such as police, parks, and planning/building services.

Second, it would not be “impossible” for the city to handle an increase in funding for
paving. The money goes to the companies winning the contract to actually do the work.
For years the city has managed paving projects. There would be no problem in
managing that work, and the city would not need to hire more employees.

Third, utilities pass along the utility taxes to their customers. Everybody knows that; it’s
just normal procedure. There’s no negotiation, they just do it.

Fourth, the city is audited on an annual basis by the Washington State Auditor’s office.
As part of their annual audit, they will determine whether the utility funds designated for
road maintenance are used for that purpose and only that purpose. We have good, solid
auditors in Washington, and I trust them to catch anything that may be amiss. I might
also note that the City of Des Moines has received a clean bill of health from the State
Auditor for the past several years.

Fifth, Real Estate Excise Taxes are used to pay for all capital expenditures … not just
roads. What Mr. Axtell fails to mention is that, with the real estate market crash, the
amount of REET collected has dropped from $1.4 million per year to just $400,000 per
year. That’s $1 million per year that the City has not had to spend on fixing anything,
including the roads.

Lastly, even Mr. Axtell acknowledges that our roads need to be maintained. It takes
money to do that. With a significant decline in the sources of funds that are used to
maintain the streets, the only option is to increase taxes to pay for them.

I want good, safe streets that will last. If you do too, I encourage a YES vote on Des
Moines Proposition 1.

Al Isaac
Des Moines