Included with my recent property tax assessment was an explanation of where the money goes once my bill is paid.<\/p>\n
For every dollar, a little over half, 52 cents, goes to education. I value education and appreciate the value this investment returns to our community. Our schools are barely squeaking by. I can’t imagine cutting money from them.<\/p>\n
Eleven cents go to voter-approved debt payments. There is no question that we need to continue to pay off our debt.<\/p>\n
The remainder of the money is allocated across city services. I value the services of our community owned and\/or operated airport, hospital, transit system, water and sewer systems, solid waste and recycling center, fire, police and ambulance services, parks and recreation areas and programs, including both pools and the field house.<\/p>\n
I don’t use Treadwell Arena or Eaglecrest Ski Area myself but many of my friends and neighbors live here because they can ski or skate. I’m excited that soon the city will soon expand healthy recreation opportunities by opening Marie Drake and Floyd Dryden gyms for pickleball and open gym.<\/p>\n
I appreciate that I can more safely navigate around town in the winter because the snow is plowed, and roads and sidewalks are maintained. I also support the money dedicated to boards and commissions so that citizens can participate in decision-making about our community (I have served on the Commission on Aging for several years) and investments in community well-being (and reasons why we live here) through grants to nonprofits including arts and culture and service organizations that contribute to overall livability of Juneau.<\/p>\n
In short, I can’t imagine cutting anything from the budget. If voters decide to cap the mill rate and\/or eliminate the tax on food and utilities the Assembly will have to make hard decisions about what to cut.<\/p>\n
I want to keep it all so I’m encouraging my friends and neighbors to vote NO on Propositions 1 and 2 and Yes on Proposition 3, which would bring in some additional summer revenue from tourists who use city services and help fill the holes if either Proposition 1 or 2 passes. Yes, we would also be paying a little bit more during the summer, but my guess is that most of us won’t notice it as much as we would notice a cut in services.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If voters decide to cap the mill rate and\/or eliminate the tax on food and utilities the Assembly will have to make hard decisions about what to cut <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1129,"featured_media":121121,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,8],"tags":[669],"class_list":["post-121120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-letters","category-opinion","tag-letter-to-the-editor"],"yoast_head":"\n