LETTER: Vote ‘no’ on Prop. 1, commissioners need to come back with more reasonable levy

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, October 31, 2017

At a time when our working poor are strugling to make rent payments and our long-time residents on fixed incomes are challanged by everyday bills, increasing the fire district levy by over 60 percent next year with a potential doubling of the cost in only five years is a very bad idea.

For those homeowners who live in a modest $500,000 home, the immediate increase would be more than $280 next year with an additional $250 added during the next five years if the board votes to increase the levy rate 6 percent each year. This is in addition to the cost we all will be paying for the new education budget the legislature passed this summer.

We need to invest in our fire district. However, Proposition 1 is too much, too soon. Send a message to the fire commissioners to present the island with a fair proposal that will protect us at a reasonable cost.

Please fire district commissioners, go back, sharpen your pencils, rethink this and come up with a better and fairer proposal than this one.

— Ann McMurdo