Editor:
There appears to be an error in your Oct. 21 editorial on the police and library levies.
If my calculation is correct, the increase in the library tax is 43 percent, not the 23 percent you indicate. 43 percent seems to me to be an excessive over-reach.
Why haven’t these percentages been reported up front and publicly justified? All the chest-beating and rally-ho of the proponents don’t go very far in explaining and justifying the need. They seem to want the voters to fall into the trap of going along with the herd.
Yes, the services are nice to have, even necessary in some cases. But there are other needs in each of our lives like food, shelter, clothing, medicines, transportation and tithes to support the church. Hereabout, money does grow on trees (timber), but it is limited and restricted in distribution.
I very much question how much thought went into determining the 43 percent increase in the library tax. In the past and elsewhere, I have seen people sit around meetings, flip a coin and decide whatever it takes to get done with the meeting and get on home.
Other fees have gone up, rubbish pickup for instance, and increases in water have been considered. You did an article on the possibility of a new bond for the Fire and Ambulance District. Many needs must be met, but to be paid by whom and how much takes more consideration than a rally-ho attitude.
Dave Ericson
Sweet Home