Standing tough against 1 percent county tax levy increases, Clallam County Commissioner Mike Chapman on Tuesday refused to support a $60.1 million 2003 county budget proposal.
Chapman, R-Port Angeles, called for deeper county cuts before increased taxation.
But Commissioners Steve Tharinger, D-Dungeness, and Mike Doherty, D-Port Angeles, declined to rescind the tax increase allowed by state law.
Instead, they challenged Chapman to come up with his own cuts to offset the increase approved 2-1 Monday after two budget hearings.
Tharinger and Doherty supported the tax increase; Chapman opposed them.
The lone Republican accepted the challenge.
“If that’s what you want, that’s what I can do for the next work session,” Chapman told Tharinger and Doherty.
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The rest of the story appears in the Wednesday Peninsula Daily News Clallam County edition. Click on SUBSCRIBE, above, to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.