It’s a little more expensive to die in King County now:
A $50 fee for cremations goes into effect Nov. 20.
A Seattle-King County Public Health manager, Gareth Johnson, says the money will help pay for the medical examiner’s office to review all deaths. It will determine if they should be investigated before the body is destroyed.
[…]…John Rolfstad [director of the People’s Memorial Association] says the fee could be a burden for the poor or discriminate against people who chose cremation for religious purposes.
Sounds to me like a pall tax.
Now there’s a make work project. How many deaths need investigating?
I am a member of the People’s Memorial Association (cheap body disposal) and I find that tax a total rip off. Like people weren’t gettin gripped off enough in the funeral industry…..now the county wants in on the rip off game.
What? Is there a specific incident that prompted this request?
Drool @ 1,
Well…according to their 2005 annual report…this is why they investigate:
And here are the numbers:
@3
Darryl, then why is the fee mandatory? Shouldn’t it be optional for families who may have questions about the cause of death?
Lets see the State special session was to pass legislation to reduce the property tax so home owners are not forced out off their homes. Ya right
The Legislature four years ago gave counties the right to create ferry districts without a public vote and to impose a property tax of up to 75 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.
The County Council raises taxes for mental health courts, foot ferries, and flood control/levies and authorized a 25-cent increase in the cost of a Metro bus ride.
Looks like their not done. $50.00 tax added to cremations what a joke. They may end up with a lot unclaimed bodies.
George @5,
Article VII, Section 2 of the state Constitution limits annual regular levies (those that do not require voter approval) to one-percent of the fair market value of one’s property. Statute then divvies up this taxing authority between and amongst itself and the various local senior and junior taxing districts. Thus in authorizing the creation of local ferry districts, the Legislature did not increase taxing authority, but merely moved it from one kind of district to another.
Most taxing districts now levy well below their aggregate statutory limit. Property tax rates have been declining steadily, as has total state and local government spending as a percentage of the economy. Indeed, over the past decade, average state and local taxes as a percentage of personal income has fallen from 11.4% to 10.3%, placing us 37th nationwide.
Of course, with the most regressive tax structure in the nation, most Washingtonians are paying more than 10.3%, while the wealthy pay much, much less. But the anti-government/anti-tax folks are never going to address this problem as it serves their agenda quite well.
Lee @ 4
“Darryl, then why is the fee mandatory? Shouldn’t it be optional for families who may have questions about the cause of death?”
I think the idea is that society, in general, benefits from what the KCME office does, and anything suspicious is difficult to investigate after cremation.
This is the kind of service that would normally be covered through taxes. This is more of a “user fee” approach that ought to make the anti-government types happy.
Darryl,
So why for cremation only? Your post does not address that. Is it to buy carbon offsets?
Seriously, when my uncle was found dead the cause of death over the phone from the “scene” determined his cause of death from a phone call to his doctor. I know as I was there. If there is reason to be suspicious of the cuse of death then it should be paid for by the same budgets as law enforcement. Not put on the backs of those that wish to not take up space on the planet for a monument to themselves.
Goldy #6
“the Legislature did not increase taxing authority, but merely moved it from one kind of district to another.”
The County Council raises taxes for mental health courts, About a year ago the voters passed a tax increase for Veterans mental health. This time they by passed up the public.
The foot ferries, this is the states job, but the taxing authority was given to the Counties and along with the flood control/levies allowing property tax increases, again with out a vote. Then the council authorized a 25-cent increase in the cost of a Metro bus ride, after the public voted in a tax increase last year to up service. The rider ship will go down.
BAck to the bodies-Looks like their not done. $50.00 tax added to cremations what a joke. They may end up with a lot unclaimed bodies.
I’m sure glad my mommy got run over by a speeding Republican in an SUV (sniffle) before they passed this tax. I saed 50 bucks! JCH is a Nazi. So what do you get for the $50? Does the medical examiner poke you with a pin to make sure you’re dead?
saved
Drool,
“So why for cremation only?
I don’t know, but I can speculate. Bodies can be exhumed and examined for evidence. Ashes typically cannot.
Your post does not address that.
My “post” was a pun.
Is it to buy carbon offsets?”
Highly unlikely. It looks to me like the money will be used to hire one full time investigator, pay for some lab charges, with a little left over for overhead costs.
“If there is reason to be suspicious of the cuse of death then it should be paid for by the same budgets as law enforcement. Not put on the backs of those that wish to not take up space on the planet for a monument to themselves.”
I agree—it should be paid for out of ordinary taxation. Welcome to the brave new world of “user fees.”
I see in today’s fishwrapper that Peter von Reichbauer wants to make county and city elective offices non-partisan. Guess he doesn’t want voters to know he’s a REPUBLICAN. That’s understandable, as the GOP brand name is a bit tarnished these days. Their image is getting dragged down by people like JCH, who is a Nazi.
Von Reichbauer has no credibility on this or any other issue. He’s a thief. He stole the Democratic brand name. He originally got elected to public office by running as a Democrat, then after he was elected, he switched to Republican. He’s what most people call a “turncoat.” I call it false advertising and fraud!
Anyway, this isn’t Herr Reichmann’s idea. He’s just parroting a gambit from the GOP Playbook. Their game now is to run as “nonpartisan” to deceive voters about who they really are and what their agenda is. You can bet that if they’re allowed to call themselves “nonpartisan,” they’ll still be the same rightwing extremists they are today!
This piece of shit doesn’t need to be studied. It’s just more Republican election fraud and shouldn’t get the time of day. Party labels are appropriate because voters have a right to know who and what they’re voting for. There’s no such thing as a nonpartisan politician. If the law were changed to let Herr Reich to run as a “nonpartisan,” he’d still be a Republican, and JCH will still be a Nazi.
@7
That makes sense.
@3 If only 0.76% of King Count’s population died in 2005, that means the average lifespan in King County is 125 years. I can prove it. If the death is 1% it will take 100 years for everyone to die. For a death rate of 3/4%, 25% fewer people are dying, you have to add 25% of 100 years to the average lifespan in order to kill everyone off. It must be all the veggies we eat in this town. And people going to juice bars and drinking carrot juice. YUMMY! I LOVE CARROTS! It doesn’t surprise me a bit that the average lifespan in King County is 125 years, because I live in King County. The king of rabbits is immortal and I’m already several million years old so I’m pulling up the average quite a bit. The rest of you are doomed! You humans are going to become extinct within 125 years or less, and then rabbits will run this place, and I’ll be their king.
death rate
Is there Lead in your Kids Toys? Want to find out?
Darcy Burner’s campaign is sponsoring a lead testing program. ESSCO Safety Check will be doing the actual testing. Details on Darcy’s web site.
http://www.darcyburner.com/
This is simply a-pall-ing.
I apologize but I could not resist. I a
This $50 new death tax, while objectionable, is very trivial. It raises about $400,000. And besides it was traditional to pay the ferryman over the River Styx!
The Americans have a ten trillion dollar debt which is a pre birth tax on everyone to come for the next 40 years.
Perhaps all the right wing anti tax types should address that ten trillion dollar tax-for-no-services, that ten trillion dollars expansion of government, that ten trillion dollar charge limiting Americans’ freedom. it will certainly make it harder to negotiate with the Chinese about anything.
With all the bodies piling up, we’ll need a Pall-Mall to store them in.
I know. That last pun was really smokin’!
20 to a box and 200 to a carton?
Dori Monson is ripping this issue, and he had a guy from King County who said that 20 bodies are cremated annually in the County without first going through the medical examiner’s office. This out of some 12,000 deaths annually.
You do the math as to the percentage.
Clueless bureaucrat that he is, he wasn’t at all bothered by the fact that disproportionately, people of modest means use cremation as an alternative. Nor was he persuaded to aggressively go after funeral homes that disregard the law on disposing of a body prior to examination by the ME’s office (BTW…only 10% or so of bodies need ME approval, so we’re talking infintesimal percentages here) and make them liable for not following the law.
To me, it’s one more example of why government is tone-deaf to the people’s interests.
Ashes to ashes…
The Piper
@23
Dori Monson is ripping this issue, and he had a guy from King County who said that 20 bodies are cremated annually in the County without first going through the medical examiner’s office. This out of some 12,000 deaths annually.
I’m not entirely sure where the discrepancy is, but that sounds very different from what’s on the King County website that Darryl posted in comment #3.
don’t any of you remember the “brain stealers”???? AKA…the coroner’s office?
they are just pissed because now they won’t be able to steal body parts behind the family’s back.
remember the guy from vashon island????
@24…Lee…
From what the guy was saying, the issue is the 20 deaths per year that don’t have the necessary paperwork from KCME, so EVERY cremation will not be assessed $50.
Stupid…that’s what that idea is.
The Piper
@26…
Should be “EVERY cremation will now be assessed $50.”
The Piper
Property tax rates have been declining steadily
Yeah? tax rates may be delining but not my Kingco property tax bill. Goes ever higher, every year.
And for crying out loud, quite with the “poor government, can’t get enough money” BS….
I know that the Liberal mind set is one of “victimhood”, but are we somehow supposed to feel bad that gov has to budget their spending to what the real tax revenue is?
Sorry, but it’s a great day for all of us when tax rates decline… Not a bad day for government.
I am not surprised that the local dailies are ignoring Wednesday night’s Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission ruling to uphold the appeal over dismissing Councilwoman Jean Godden’s campaign contretemps, but I am a little surprised that the usually astute HA community has been slow on the uptake.
The full commission voted for a full investigation into her campaign practices as documented by Dave Coons’ original request for an investigation of illegal and unethical election behavior. Not only did JG’s campaign use city resources to help coordinate her campaign, she blew off city business to go campaign and raise money for her re-election. But, of course, you never heard about it because Joel Connelly and his ilk were too busy getting backstage passes to sup at the Vulcan “trough and brew.” Oh the perks of the few, those connected, enlightened few who know better than we as to what is truly newsworthy.
In Seattle, holding our Nickels-friendly, entitlement-laden political leadership to some kind of accountability becomes an exercise in philosophy: if there was illegal and unethical behavior but no local paper or reporter writes about it, does it exist?
@29
Clarification: it was a 4-2 vote, not unanimous.
Uh oh…Looks like that wormy old John Edwards has gone and jumped the shark by allowing his South Carolina supporters (including, not surprisingly, union bosses of the SEIU) to dis Oprah.
Read http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.....prah-love/
Not only did they dis her, but they did it on the record!
Doesn’t he have any common sense or control over his own campaign??? Only an idiot would say anything negative about Oprah!
But…isn’t…that…just…what…John…Edwards…is?
The Piper
@8 “those that wish to not take up space on the planet”
Not a problem. Just tell the undertaker to go easy with the formaldehyde and your loved one will disappear.
@9 “The foot ferries, this is the states job”
Seems to me ferries on state highways would be a state responsibility, while ferries on county roads would be a county responsibility.
@19 “The Americans have a ten trillion dollar debt which is a pre birth tax on everyone to come for the next 40 years.”
Interesting point. Since there are about 4.1 million Americans born every year (2005 data), if you split the $10 trillion up among the children who will be born over the next 40 years, that’s about $61,000 per child. Oh well, they can take comfort in knowing that when it’s time to leave their exit from this world will cost them only $50 (plus whatever the private sector charges them).
@34 Even with the $50 tax, dying is still a better deal than being born.
@28 “Right Stuff says: Property tax rates have been declining steadily … Yeah? tax rates may be delining but not my Kingco property tax bill. Goes ever higher, every year.”
Not really. Your taxes are going down, but the value of your dollars are going down faster. Talk to Dr. Bernanke about that. He’s in charge of that department.
Why not turn our dead carcasses into biodiesel. Hell, all
the cheeseburgers I have snarffed they would have to pay
me to burn my ass.