The city of Burien is proposing a new $25 yearly vehicle license fee. Looking at your Voters Pamphlet, you won't find this proposal connected to the city of Burien.

In fact, I had to thumb all the way to page 100 -- end of the Voters Pamphlet -- to find it. You will not find the word Burien anywhere in the title. Instead, you will find Transportation Benefit District No.1, Proposition No.1 -- yet this is a city revenue proposal.

A stealth move if ever there was one.

For two reasons I cannot support this measure.

First of all, the $25 license fee is a regressive tax that, like utility taxes, hits working families and lower income people the hardest. Since this is a "fee" -- not an excise tax -- it is not even deductible on federal income taxes.

If these bicycle and sidewalk improvements are necessary at a time of broad personal economic hardship, there are fairer ways to raise the money.

The most obvious, fairer way to raise public money is a voter-approved special property tax levy. At least property taxes are deductible on federal income taxes -- also, it calls a duck a duck.

Secondly, having the Transit Benefit District board the same as the city council is merely "left pocket, right pocket". I might support a TBD if we were also electing independent commissioners, as is being done for the proposed Des Moines Pool District.

I'd rather have independent input on special project taxes. However, the interlocking board of directors/councilmembers makes this little more than a work-around for the city council to raise taxes without their name on the price tag. "The council didn't raise taxes, the TBD did it."

Yes, we need safe streets: safe for children to walk to school, safe for bicycles. This is not the way to do it.

Vote NO on Transportation Benefit District No.1, Proposition No.1. When doing the right thing, you also have to do the thing right.

Stephen Lamphear
North Shorewood