Community Corner

Letter: Kirkland Can't Blame State for Budget Issues

Letter writer says local politicians brokered away quality of life and Kirkland's citizens will have to pay out of their pockets.

To the editor,

Don't . Even with the state’s sales tax rebate, Kirkland’s budget deficit will be $40 million greater after the sales tax rebate ends in 10 years.  We will be paying more for less.  State Representative Larry Springer, King County Councilmember Jane Hague, and Kirkland’s Mayor Joan McBride should be held accountable.

We will have to make up the budgetary difference if we are going to balance the budget.  If we didn't listen to our politician’s poppycock about costs, we would have retained and improved our quality of life.  Instead, they continue to blame the state for something they did.  The truth is they brokered their way without our knowledge as to what they were doing that caused us to borrow more and more money, a debt that has to come out of our pockets.  They didn't do us any favors and they should be recognized for getting us into this mess.

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We're learning the hard way not to trust politicians. They have not only cost us a lot of money, they have reduced our quality of life.  When discussing budgets, traffic congestion, annexation, or controlling growth, they brokered deals without keeping the public informed as to what was going on.

And now to suggest the elimination of the Houghton Community Council personifies why we should not trust them.  When Mr. Springer and Ms. McBride were elected, it exemplified the meaning of, “There goes the neighborhood.”

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The Kirkland Council has always valued neighborhoods.  Why not now?

 

--Bob Style, Kirkland


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