Some Island County residents took the opportunity to vent their anger and frustration with government during the first public forum since the county commissioners decided to ask voters to increase property taxes.

“We’re in a deep recession and you want to increase our taxes,” Coupeville resident George Penwell said. “It’s mind boggling.”

Penwell’s thoughts were echoed by eight other speakers during the crowded forum in Coupeville Monday night, but not everyone agreed with him. A half dozen speakers spoke in favor of the tax increases, voiced support for the county or expressed their own frustration with the anti-tax fervor.

“We’re not going to get everything for nothing,” Oak Harbor Al Williams said, directing his comments at those who want government services but don’t want to pay for them.

Island County Budget Director Elaine Marlow opened the forum with a half-hour presentation designed to communicate the severity of the county’s budget crisis and explain why the commissioners placed a property tax levy increase on the primary ballot. If passed, it would cost the owner of $250,000 house an extra $40 a year. It would also raise $2 million extra for the county and prevent any more cuts.

“Another round of cuts will decimate our public safety and public health and other essential services,” she said.

After the presentation, nine elected officials and department heads discussed what budget cuts would mean for their departments. Sheriff Mark Brown said he may lose from seven to 10 deputies; Prosecutor Greg Banks said he would stop prosecuting about 1,000 lower-level crimes a year.

Many of the officials described how past cuts have already devastated this departments.

“My staff and I worked nights, Saturdays and Sundays, and that was without pay,” Treasurer Linda Riffe said. She explained that her office was four weeks behind in processing tax payments because of the short staff, which resulted in many dozens of angry calls from taxpayers.

Many people in the audience weren’t buying in, but felt the officials were using scare tactics. Coupeville resident Julie Lauderdale said it doesn’t make sense to tax the residents more, since their lack of money is the source of the county’s problems. She suggested that the union members give up their “gold-plated benefits.”

Bill Carruthers, chairman of the Island County Republican Party, urged the commissioners to make more cuts and to prioritize public safety even more then they have.

“Republicans know that you do not stimulate the economy by increasing taxes,” he said.

Coupeville resident Jason Joiner gave a fiery speech that criticized how the three Democratic commissioners have handled the budget, saying that an independent financial committee and the budget presentation were created just to advocate for tax increases. He argued that the county government shouldn’t fund programs like 4-H, which can exist without county money.

“We’re looking at a temporary recession and they’re looking at a permanent tax increase,” he said. “That’s asinine.”

On the other side, a couple of county employees explained that the union members have always fought for good benefits over higher salary. The result is that they have benefits comparable to other counties, but their pay is well below comparable counties.

Marjory Homan, president of the WSU Island County Extension Master Gardeners, spoke about all the important work the organization does, including growing thousands of pounds of produce each year for food banks. She brought a giant head of lettuce to show they know what they are doing. She said the group needs a coordinator position at the extension office.

“We are a bunch of wild and crazy educators,” she said.

At the end, Commissioner Angie Homola explained that she’s done nothing but cut budgets since coming into office a year and a half ago. She said the budget crisis is not a short-term issue caused by the recession, but a systemic problem that resulted from tax-limiting initiatives. She said former commissioners relied on the housing bubble to buoy the county budget for years, but those days are over.

Commissioner John Dean, who’s running for reelection this year, confronted critics who are angry about possible tax increases. He pointed out that the commissioners aren’t raising property taxes, but they are giving the voters the opportunity to choose between tax increases or cuts. He said not giving them a choice would be irresponsible. The purpose of the forums, he explained, is to give the public insights into what the impacts of the cuts might be.

“You give us the direction, we will make more responsible cuts,” he said.