To the editor:

For months, voters have expressed their opposition to the Island County commissioners increased fees, yet our commissioners continue to ignore their pleas, and instead pursue new ways of taxing Island County residents, even though we are in a recession, our unemployment is skyrocketing and many of us are struggling to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table.

Rather than removing or suspending non-mandated items from the budget, the commissioners have chosen to cut county department budgets, decreasing the very services our tax dollars are collected to pay for.

Spending scarce county revenue for non-mandated items and raising taxes during a recession is just plain unacceptable. What would really happen to these charitable organizations if the commissioners withdrew our hard-earned tax dollars from their funding? Would they disappear? Probably not. The longer the commissioners wait to address the core problem, the deeper the cuts will need to be.

Recently, the commissioners raised building permit fees for the second time in one year in an attempt to improve their revenue stream and keep non-mandated items in their budget. This process further cripples the construction industry and economic recovery here on Whidbey Island.

The budget won’t get better on its own, but massive tax increases and fees will not solve the problem. In fact, chances are we will have to do this whole exercise all over again next year as construction continues to stagnate, employment declines, residents move off the island to seek work, and new state and federal taxes are implemented. Rather than spending time to look for ways to make tax and fee increases palatable to voters, the commissioners need to seriously prioritize the budget.

Soon, the commissioners will be presenting their final budget and the decisions they make will have far-reaching ramifications for every man, woman and child living on Whidbey Island.

The commissioners need to do what they were hired to do: Make tough budgeting choices about the priorities and roles of government. They need to rank programs in order of importance so they can stop funding lower-priority programs.

The commissioners need to reset the level of spending to reflect the new economic reality. This means Island County citizens have to acknowledge that they aren’t going to get everything they want out of government. It also means unions and other special interest groups can’t cut to the front of the line.

This choice acknowledges that government cannot be all things to all people, meaning that some of the new roles and services government has taken on in the last five years will need to be eliminated, or at least suspended. The choice to reduce spending rather than raise taxes will mean faster economic recovery.

In conclusion, when finalizing their budget, the commissioners need to remember that they work for the taxpayers of Island County. Ultimately, they will be answerable to us for the choices they make.

Voters are tired of irresponsible fiscal policies, and elected officials who ignore the will of the people for the benefit of a few.

Charlona Sawyer

Greenbank