A yes vote for Proposition One on the August 7, 2012 ballot is a vote for public safety. Increased revenue is needed to maintain current levels of Public Safety and Justice services in San Juan County. Despite five years of cuts in county budgets and severe cuts in staffing, county revenues are projected to fall $3.6 million short over the next 3 years. Until now, cuts to the sheriff’s department and to the criminal justice services have been minimized. But without increased revenue, these essential public services will be cut in ways that affect our quality of life.
The proposed 30 cents increase per $100 in sales would fund current levels of Public Safety and Justice services in our islands. A sales tax increase will raise revenue from both residents and visitors. Our population approximately doubles during the tourist season. The surge in visitors results in increased pressure on the sheriff’s department and on the justice department. Most drugs and groceries would not be taxed. The sales tax would not apply to auto sales. This increase in the sales tax is the best way to stabilize funding for our county’s public safety and justice services because visitors will contribute as well as residents. No statements against this increase in sales tax have been made despite attempts to add a Con view to the Proposition One ballot.
Vote Yes for Public Safety and Justice. Vote Yes for Proposition One.
Janet Alderton
Orcas Island
I can’t help noticing that Proposition One also includes money for the Town of Friday Harbor public works projects. Why was this included in this Proposition? Seems to me the Proposition would be much clearer if confined to the purported purpose, which is criminal justice and public safety. Much as I might admire Friday Harbor, I think they should pay for their own public works projects – or at least tell us what they might be. What bottomless ‘public works’ project will this Proposition fund?
Tom Welch
Olga
VOTE NO!!!! I believe in government but this is a terrible idea. The prosecutor’s office is already out of control wasting taxpayers money through “Prosecutorial Overreach”. They improperly charge you using your tax dollars and then you spend a fortune defending yourself. They are like a pack of rabid dogs. Do not encourage them with more money. More money for deputy’s makes more sense. I am not the only one that has been ground through the mill. Vote No!!!!!
It’s important to note that Prop 1’s tax increase is not “more money” for deputies. It’s just a way for the County to keep spending on all the other things it’s spending on while maintaining existing spending on deputies through a tax hike. Friday Harbor gets 40% because the statute that authorizes this higher tax requires that incorporated towns on counties get 40%, and FH can use the money for anything. And it’s not just deputies; it’s all sorts of ancillary social service workers and administrators that one would never think of as “public safety” workers. I think of sheriff’s deputies and firefighters and EMTs. That is NOT what this tax is about.