The alleged outrage by Republicans and Tea Party “patriots” in many of the letters to your paper is, in my view, so very unproductive. Republican councils and administrations in all jurisdictions would still have to grapple with the budgetary issues facing them and party affiliation doesn’t magically change that reality.
The current elected Island County officials didn’t stand in front of houses and tell buyers to go away nor did they put up signs in front of local business forbidding people to shop there. And they didn’t personally close down businesses and put people out of work.
But houses stopped being bought or even built, businesses did see fewer people through their doors, and some even closed or reduced their workforce. So there is just less revenue available to support all of the services and programs that you, the residents, want from your local governments.
Our elected officials are working as diligently as they can to provide you, all of you, with the services you need and the quality of life that you demand. Some of you believe that you can do without some of these services or see your tax dollars as unnecessarily spent in areas that make no difference in your personal quality of life. You feel robbed every time a tax increase is passed or money is allocated for services that don’t impact you immediately.
It’s like the old adage, “I can’t wait until my kids graduate from school, so I can vote against every school levy.” So now we’re hearing lots of outrage about “living within our means” and “mandated vs. unmandated.”
Well, I believe that our elected officials are taking into consideration all the issues and no party affiliation is going to change the very serious deliberations and wrenching decisions these individuals, county, city or town, have to make to meet the needs and the demands of Island County residents.
Residents need to take a moment and ask themselves, “How can I be a part of the solution?” Put the affiliation aside and help everyone get through this as best we can.
Stephen Hunt
Coupeville
