The Gazette-Times printed my letter! They used the headline: "Send 'tough love' message to city and reject the levy", which is fine. The letter:
"Adults understand that ignoring problems does not make them go away. Corvallis has serious fiscal problems and faces a multi-million dollar deficit this year. Even larger deficits loom over 2012 and 2013.
Rather than take tough measures to correct the fiscal deficiencies, our local leaders are attempting to blackmail us into paying more property taxes: "Either give us more money or we'll shut the doors on your favorite activities". This action comes despite the fact that Oregon voters have passed three measures (5, 47 and 50) in an effort to limit property tax increases.
A quick count of Oregon local-levy efforts similar to our 02-74 shows that over 700 such initiatives have been defeated since Measure 5 was passed in 1990.
Corvallis citizens do not need higher property taxes. What we need is a city management/council with the same restraints we all face as members of families. We need to look at our income (very predictable, in this case) and limit our expenses to that amount. Sitting on the sidewalk, begging for loose change, is no way to run a city. Blackmail is even worse. Voters need to send a tough-love message to our leaders by voting no on 02-74. It's the only way to achieve a sustainable fiscal situation in our very nice city."
Please vote NO on 02-74. Thank you.
The news about the weather in the mid-South this morning is horrifying. Incredible destruction. You may have seen my comments about a new book, "The Weather Of The Future" by Heidi Cullen, a climatologist who has focused her research on likely climate effects of climate change. So for some, these storms come as no surprise. And we can certainly expect more of the same. It'll be very interesting to watch the hurricane season this year. Could be some excitement?
Namaste.
corvallisgadfly@gmail.com
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