The Municipal League of King County has made recommendations on two measures that will be before Bellevue-area voters in the November 3 general election.

The League opposes Initiative 1033, which would limit growth of state, county and city revenues.

Washington State is experiencing a severe recession, the League noted. State and local governments have instituted drastic budget cuts affecting education, health care, human services, parks, corrections and many other programs that citizens rely on, especially during hard times. The Leagued added that “now is the worst possible time to further hamper government’s flexibility to meet public needs and to help with economic recovery.”

Previous initiatives have already slowed government spending significantly and elected officials are already very cautious about authorizing tax increases to meet service needs, League officials said.

“While it may be a good idea to encourage government to prioritize services and live within its means, this initiative is filled with complex provisions that will make government’s ability to govern much harder and further exacerbate the structural problems of our system of financing public services,” the League said.

The League said it supports the King County Open Space Charter Amendment No. 4, which adds a new section dealing with high conservation value properties.

Population and development pressures in the coming decades will continue to create pressure for elected officials to allow changes in use of protected lands, League officials said.

“This amendment would create procedural steps and public scrutiny for any such changes in the future, ensuring public debate and public involvement in major decisions regarding our public lands, rather than allowing private lawsuits and the courts to decide how open-space uses might be changed,” the League added.