 Stop Already! No New Taxes. There is truly a disconnect folks. Many of you are putting your homes up for sale and searching for new surroundings with better value. Yet I hear at the county offices on a regular basis that you're not overtaxed.
Perhaps THEY are not overtaxed, but many of you have not worked in years, or are working two part-time jobs to try and get by. You are commuting further and further away or even having to set up a second residence for your out-of-town work week. You're forced to leave your family and pets behind knowing you'll never have that time with them back. It breaks my heart to witness the difficulties so many of us face in these trying times.
It's equally disheartening hearing about the struggles you business owners are facing with your lives on the line trying to keep your doors open. All I can say is, "Thank God for NAS Whidbey." May we never take them for granted.
It was Commissioner Price-Johnson who got the ball rolling for this latest tax increase suggestion. I guess seven increases in one year during "The Great Recession" isn't enough? A Law and Justice proposition is almost always a shoe-in, people are afraid to vote no.
I must admit, I would have considered going along with hearing what the voters had to say if I would have gotten some support for putting a temporary moratorium for the collection of the Conservation Futures levy on the ballot. But having a rural county such as ours take the place of third highest sales tax in the state would not help our withering businesses.
We must have some stability. We have been balancing budgets by depleting reserves for four years now. We continue to add to our parks inventory with no idea for ongoing financing. We do not relent from pulling property from the tax role and passing that burden on to future generations.
The time is long overdue to just "STOP ALREADY!" We must stabilize this capsizing ship. How many more "pizzas" do we have to give up to fund yet another special interest before we are all washing dishes to pay for our staples? For those of you fortunate enough to not have to worry about paying for your child's education, your mortgage, health care, retirement, vehicle maintenance, heating fuel, Clean Water Utility, groceries, grand-children's inheritance, etc, and you are willing and able to do more, please know that your check will always be accepted and appreciated when sent to: Island County Treasurer PO Box 699 Coupeville, WA 98239-0699 | 
