Referendum 52 saves taxpayers money

Frugal voters unite!

Tucked away on the November ballot is a solid investment with guaranteed dividends. Referendum 52 asks taxpayers to spend a little money to save a lot of money on energy bills in schools and public buildings.

The state Legislature agreed to raise $505 million with general obligation bonds to pay for energy-conservation grants to schools, universities, colleges and public agencies. A competitive process finds the most energy-efficient projects and building upgrades.

Funding the grants requires modestly expanding the state's debt limit, which needs voter approval. It should be granted.

R-52 offers long-term environmental benefits, and it works as a jobs measure in a state economy with a stubborn 9 percent unemployment rate.

The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Hans Dunshee, D- Snohomish, creates a conservatively estimated 30,000 new construction jobs.

What really does it for me is saving money — the pure economics of conservation. Time is the key element. Built and operating public facilities will be in use for decades more. Dated, inefficient lighting, heating and control systems have been, are now and will continue to waste taxpayer dollars. Those costs will only grow, sucking up more education dollars to pay the utility bill.

I don't know if clipping coupons and toting a sack lunch to work establishes one's bona fides as a frugal person. The instinct is less an aversion to spending, and more about not squandering scarce resources, mine and those we share.

R-52 is written to be paid for by extending a beverage and candy tax past its expiration in 2013. Initiative 1107 on the ballot would repeal the sales tax. If both measures pass — raising the debt limit and repealing the sales tax — the Legislature would have to find the $32 million of annual debt service in the general fund. I think that is doable and worth doing.

The underlying process of R-52 — energy performance contracting — is not new. The South Kitsap School District has been using it since 1999.

"The goal is to find equipment upgrades to provide guaranteed energy savings," said Tom O'Brien, director of facilities and operations.

Competitors for the grants would submit projects rated and guaranteed by specialized contractors as offering savings that quickly pay for themselves. Successful state-grant applicants would leverage district bond money, conservation grants from local utilities and loans whose repayment would be covered by energy savings.

Monitoring and verification requirements in energy contracting also ensure equipment is properly maintained, said Evan Ujiiye, director of capital planning for Northshore School District.

The state would collect sales taxes on project materials and services, but future savings on utility bills would accrue to the district and local taxpayers.

As citizens of overlapping jurisdictions, every taxpayer is paying bits and pieces of bills. Saving money and improving school environments are true values with a genuine impact on education. The legislation does not speak to healthier classrooms, but any retrofit project is going to reveal and remove all manner of hazardous funk.

Kevin Laverty, president of the Washington State School Directors' Association and a Mukilteo School Board member, knows firsthand the improvements that can be done, and the savings to be found. The association's board of directors has endorsed R-52.

The measure comes with official benedictions. State Treasurer James McIntire has opined the proposed bond measure should not affect the state's bond rating.

The best way forward is to vote no on I-1107, which saves a few pennies on wholly discretionary purchases. A yes vote on R-52 offers real benefits for students, schools and saves taxpayers money.

Lance Dickie's column appears regularly on editorial pages of The Times. His e-mail address is ldickie@seattletimes.com