Voters showed good sense

A vote on a boost to the Grand Coulee sales tax that passed on Tuesday will add a bit to the bottom line of most non-food retail sales made in Grand Coulee.

The city council showed good sense in allowing the public to vote on it as a solution to the problem of crumbling city streets in need of repair.

Ideally, a sales tax wouldn’t be the first solution you’d think of for fixing streets. It’s not directly tied to the problem and so shifts some of the burden to another part of the economy (consumers buying things, not cars and trucks wearing out pavement).

But the city trying to fix the problem recognizes that much of the traffic that causes the problem comes from people who don’t live in the city. Much of it wears out the streets as people come to Grand Coulee for retail business or as tourists.

Evidently, voters realized the dilemma and liked the proposed solution too.

Scott Hunter

editor and publisher