To the editor:

So Prop.1 failed. I must say I’m not surprised.

I have paid property taxes here for 25 years and have consistently voted for levies on the ballot. I am a true believer that we need to pay for services that our government provides. But in the past year I have come to believe that we are starting to fund The Kingdom with yes votes for tax increases.

I am feeling more and more disillusioned with our government officials nationally and locally. With the falling apart of our economy and our elected officials dictating their own pay raises, it’s no wonder I’ve lost faith in our system. Thank county commissioners for freezing most pay raises within the county, but that should be a given, don’t you think?

As a small-business owner, I wish I were totally in charge of voting for my own pay increases. When the market doesn’t allow for me to increase my rates, I don’t. The same should hold true for county jobs and the Langley mayor, but when the taxpayers are your bank and you vote for your own raises, there is a problem.

We also have a superintendent of schools who is trying to push through a merging of schools that at best is sketchy financially. It’s going to cost us taxpayers a lot more money than fixing up the middle school. It’s so much easier to throw around money when it’s not yours, I guess.

Hey, if Island County needs a great landscape company, I would love to work for you and get full benefits and a great pension fully funded by the taxpayers of Island County. Just saying.

Mari Campbell

Clinton