The Kent Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors has announced its opposition to two measures on next week’s general election ballot.
The chamber opposes Proposition 1, the Sound Transit measure, as well as I-1029, regarding long-term caregivers.
According to a statement from chamber Executive Director Andrea Keikkala, the chamber opposes Prop. 1 because it “does not serve employment centers and the majority of residential areas in the City of Kent or South Puget Sound region.”
The release goes on to say the chamber does not believe the proposition provides a “comprehensive regional solution” and asserts that employees in Kent are not being served.
Though the chamber says the “transit system needs relief now” because “buses are at capacity,” the release goes on to say that investment in buses only accounts for 2 percent of the total money and “just 60 new buses” would be provided through the program.
According to Sound Transit, 60 buses would represent a 25 percent increase in the size of the fleet.
The chamber release also cites the cost of the project: $17.8 billion; and says the plan would tie up “crucial monies this region has to invest in transit” and cites work on state Route 509, Interstate 167 and Interstate 405 need to be implemented to “reduce congestion immediately.”
The chamber also opposes Initiative 1029, which requires federal background checks and increased training for caregivers for the elderly and people with disabilities.
Presently, 34 hours of training is required for home-care givers. The initiative would increase that number to 75 hours for workers hired after Jan. 1, 2010.
The measure would not affect workers in nursing homes, adult day-care centers or hospice workers.
The chamber opposes the measure because it believes the initiative will “cut caregiver jobs and deplete the pool of qualified workers when there is already a shortage” of caregivers. The release also states the additional requirements would make it “exceedingly difficult and expensive” for families to find home workers.
The chamber, in its statement, also asserts the measure will force family members who provide care to take “unnecessary and expensive training.” However, the initiative would only apply to those families that receive funding from the state.
The release also states the initiative provides no evidence it will improve care, and cites a 2006 study by a governor’s task force which, it claims, found no data to support a 75-hour training requirement.
The Kent Chamber’s Government Affairs committee, which consists of small businesses, corporate members and municipal leaders from Kent, makes recommendations to the chamber’s board of directors, which voted to oppose the ballot measures.
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