Cheney tax measures win big

Voters in Cheney were overwhelmingly sending a pair of tax measures to easy victory in early election returns Tuesday night.

Proposition 1 to renew a 4 percent electrical energy and natural gas tax to fund continued repair and replacement of residential streets and sidewalks was passing with a 74.74 percent of the vote, 716 to 242. Meanwhile Proposition 2 renewing the 50 cent per $1,000 of assessed taxable property valuation to fund emergency medical services for another six years was doing even better – receiving 79.31 percent approval, 755 to 197.

Cheney Mayor Tom Trulove, hearing the results for the first time, elicited an excited “yahoo” when contacted Tuesday evening.

“I guess I just lost the office pool,” Trulove said. “I thought we’d be at around 60 percent.”

Trulove credited the success to a hard working, dedicated city staff as well as an electorate that understands the value of investing in its community. Cheney’s emergency personnel are some of the best trained and most professional around because of the community’s past support of EMS levies. With regards to the street funding, Trulove said it’s easy for residents to look at their streets and compare them with those in Spokane to see the value of continued investment in maintenance.

“It shows people in Cheney are really supportive of their community and they’re willing to support things that they can see and promises kept,” he said. “They understand that it’s cheaper to preserve than it is to rebuild.”

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.