I urge my fellow citizens of Island County to Vote no on Proposition 1. Once the levy lid is off there is no putting it back on. We are not just being asked for a one-time $40 tax increase. We are being asked to give the commissioners the right to raise taxes every year by more than 1 percent should the consumer price index be higher.

This request is a permanent solution to what may be a temporary problem — the downturn in the economy. Vote no. There is no guarantee that even if the levy lid increase passes that commissioners will make public safety the top priority. The ballot measure gives no such guarantee. Vote no. Keep the levy lid in place and ask the commissioners for an alternative plan!

Kathy Jones

Oak Harbor