What do you think of the proposed car tab fee winding its way through Bainbridge City Hall? Would the $20 per vehicle per year be too much of a burden in these hard economic times, or is the annual $440,000 for roads worth the cost?
Place your vote at the poll on the right side of the screen.
For more on the car tab fee proposal, click here.
As for our last poll about the future of Strawberry Plant Park, the final result was close.
57 percent (21 voters) supported the city’s shoreline restoration and park development plan.
43 percent (16 voters) said the city should leave the shore as-is and ask for more public input.
If you didn’t catch it, the latest news with the park is that the city hearing examiner tossed out an appeal of the city’s plan. To read more on that, click here.
How irresposible is it to let Mr. Peters who has been the leader of all the mis-spent funds that should have been used on the roads to even put up such an idea. What should we do just let him waste and mis-spend and then let him reach into our pockets to fund programs that were priorities and have been priorities all along but Mr. Peters supported by 3 other Councilors and an inept ex-Mayor spent on their own persoanl agenda projects. NO TO THE $ 20!
I think Mr. Peters should be held accountable vs. letting him get away with even stating what the public is asking for as nothing we/they are asking for is new. What is new is that all of a sudden he is listening? Where has he been when the requests have been made in the past.
Mr. Peters should resign!
The car tax should be put to a vote of the citizens on Bainbridge just as it is in Bremmerton.
The socialists in charge will put on the tax just because they can, saying it is for a badly needed service. Of course, anything they see is ‘needed,’ from the senior center to (un)affordable housing to town associations to arts support. They’ve never seen a service they could do without and so neglect the non-sexy things like roads that need doing and should have had the highest priorities. If they want mpore money they can fire half the people in that abysmally dysfunctional planning department and put that money into roads.
The issue of MVET came up at last night’s COBI Council debate. While not a direct question to all candidates, candidates did bring up the issue.
Dee DuMont said she does not support a MVET
Bob Scales said he does not support a MVET
Curt Winston said he supports putting an MVET to a public vote as they did — or are doing — in Bremerton.
All other candidates did not venture an opinion on COBI MVET.
I need more facts. What is the current budget for Bainbridge road work? How much was completed?
I am appalled at our roads and sidewalks on this island. Drive off the island and see what great work the county is doing. Why not here? Perhaps we made a mistake with annexation.
I don’t believe that there is any road work at all being done, and hasn’t been for two years or so. The council budgeted NOTHING for roads and instead funneled the money to HHHS & Arts and other non-essential government expenditures. The council never met a social cause they did not like (or given money to).
I am absolutely against the $20 MVET. The current road situation is of the council’s own making. If infrastructure, roads and public safety were (as it should) a council priority then I would feel differently.
It seems like quite the scam- spend money on many non-essential government issues, budget nothing for the roads, then later ask for extra taxes to fix “the roads”. The council will never put this tax issue before the voters because they know it would fail.
Hunter — COBI knew they could short-change roads, push back their project list and then come back to ask for mercy from the taxpayers in the form of a MVET. This is a Barry Peter’s Ponzi scheme that he intends on jamming down our/your throat here shortly.
Tell me again how many hundreds of thousands or millions Peters and the Council have squandered on hair-brain drug-induced schemes.
Ask the COBI wanabee candidates where they stand on MVET. Winston, DuMont and Scales have come in with a NO. Where do the other candidates stand on this new tax? Hey, that is you, Hytopoulus, Keenan, Vancil, Lester and Paul.
STOP COBI~PETERS CAR TAX
James- You have marked the culprit well. Mr. Peters needs to resign, he has proven to be incapable of understanding our priorities as taxpayers and has lead three others to overspend what the COBI did not have to begin with. He was incapable of understanding the economic forecaste so clearly understood by even grammar schoolers and spent what the COBI was not going to see come in as revenue. So Mr. Peter’s answer is to pick your pocket to cover his total ineptness. It should not just be STOP COBI – PETERS CAR TAX. But somehow get Peter’s to resign, and recognize his significant role in nearly bankrupting the COBI.
The sound and fury in some of the preceding responses strikes me as way out of proportion with the issue, which is only under discussion, not about to be imposed. It’s my understanding that the MVET is one possible element in an effort to revise COBI’s array of taxes and fees, not with the aim of increasing the total burden on citizens, but to make the whole program fairer. I see the MVET as a user fee, and a fair one. My wife and I own two vehicles, so I guess we would be liable for $40 a year, even though one car is on loan to our son in Portland and not being driven on Island roads. Life is so unfair!
If I were considering whether or not to put the question to the voters, I’d want to know first of all how much it would cost and how long the process would take. I’m not convinced that Bainbridge voters would reject the idea.
Jon,
You can carry a user-tax scenario to the extreme. Call 911 for a fireman, medic or cop? Pay a user fee to the city. Wanna park downtown? Time to install parking metetrs ala Seattle. Want to take a walk or ride your bike on a city trail or walkway? Drop your cash in the pay box.
The point is that the council allocated funds (our tax money) to non-essential government programs, services or organizations instead of to essential government functions like roads, infrastructure and public safety. I refuse to drink the Kool-Aid and reward that type of spending with additional taxes, especially during a recession. Within the last month the newly-impowered council again chose to throw another $100,000 to “affordable housing”. Until the council forgets how to print money, I refuse to provide the ink to do so.
Jon- Get real, no chance for Peter’s to pick the pockets of those on the Island for this one! I suspect after the experiences we have had with Peters, the other three and the ex-Mayor few would consider giving him and Franz going forward an extra nickle. They have mis- spent over and over and are now going to make up for their decisions by asking for more. There are monies, by vote, as I recall that were to be dedicated to exactly the areas he now says need to be repaired yet he voted to take the dedicated funds and spend them on non priorities. OUT with Peters!
Jon — write your check without getting permission from Nanny Peters. Send your check forthright and add any extra money any guilt might so incline you. Tell them your money is dedicated for ROADS ONLY.
Jon you talk about Sound and Fury — how about the Flim Flam Funnies from Peters and his apologists.
STOP PETER’S ~ COBI CAR TAX
While I am not for the car tax, I do agree with Jon about the sound and fury. Just where does that poster, (#s 4,7,12) get off claiming that this and other proposals are “drug induced”?
Hey, John, just trying to make give an excuse for COBI squandering millions of dollars in taxpayer monies on wildly impractical plans. Suggesting bad behavior due to substance abuse would likely get them off the hook (the Twinkie Defense). Frequently drugs or flash-backs are involved where money comes up short.
Glad you are not for the car tax, whatever the explanation for the dire financial straits we are in at COBI.
Jon Q. citizen — Sound and Fury — has been a big defender of the status quo for many years. Oh, and Jon Q is a gentleman without parallel. It just seems Jon Q. takes a more cautious road to explaining our current fiasco.
John, Would James have been better served to say Peters has been smoking his old socks? Hard to do this, but we do need to give Peters a little more credit than has been given as I believe he is a graduate of grammar school.
James would be better served well tenderized with lot’s of home-made gravy and plenty of side dishes.
John, On the other hand in fairness to James, he like others above and many many more on other blogs have Peter’s number. Peters, the mistake of the voters needs to be talked into resigning so the City can pick up the pieces he has scattered all over the Island. With him off the Council and the new incoming members there would be great hope of their being able to manage our fair City. With him on the Council pushing low priority programs,and additional taxes people have told the Council they don’t want, bedlum will continue to reign. He needs to go the way of our ex-Mayor, Jell, and Snow – off to permanent pasture.
John — yes it is very important to have a crime-free bi day — remember those words.
Yes, Peters might be smoking his old socks – yuk !!
To see what happens if you cross the local “D” dons, see.: YouTube: http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=e4980a600e&view=att&th=12323ab7dc2ac045&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw.
And speaking of you John, have a crime-free no-car-tax day.
Matt et al. Sorry but the YouTube to see what the local “D” Dons do to political free speech is not the link shown but rather: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYqzUL3awgk
and yes, John have a crime-free and no-car-tax day at pay-to-play tv.
I see you are still advertising your goofy bully-pulpit video. Is that you in the police blotter this week? Stay tuned.
Crime-free, hate-free, pay-to-play bi tv fluff is what the 50 viewers expect from the crime guy. Where’s the report on the Peter’s car tax? Oh, that’s right b-not-news only does pro-COBI programming because COBI is a valued “partner.”
Blotter is infamous beyond all imagination. Hope springs eternal over adherence to “high journalistic standards.” Don’t quit your day job, Blotter.
Tristan, let’s see an article about when Councilperson Peters plans on doing the MVET. Thanks
Great James-lets get this conversation back to just how bad Peters has been for this City and quit throwing rocks at each other, that is you and John. What we together need to do is insure all the residents really understand what Peters had done and not done. The done is just about everything wrong and not directed towards much or any that the public identified as priority and not done are the things he was elected to do, that is represent the people not his own agenda. As we have all agreed I believe he needs to resign. So with that in mind James we have elcted you to approach Peters with the facts as to just how bad he has been for the City and convince him to resign, saddle up the horses, hook up the buckboard and for him leave town totally embarrassed about where he has lead this City. And while you are at it Franz should consider the same if you have any energy left after trying to discuss something rationale with Peters!
Great Matt. Let’s all get together and throw rocks at council members instead. It seems to me that it would be better to work together to try and figure out how to come up with needed funds for roads etc, than to continue sniping at will. In case you hadn’t noticed, the lack of funds is not confined to Bainbridge Island, and I fail to see anything remotely constructive in your constant bashing of this good citizen, and others, who have at least had the backbones to step up to the task of trying to run this odd little city.
Matt: done.
The Benchmark Study, cost to taxpayers of $167K, said that COBI Public Works had a relatively abysmal record of on-time completion of projects (30%). Obviously this lack of productivity has a compound effect as year-in-and-year-out the list of maintenance and projects slip. Not sure who the current Director of Public Works is but if they can tighten up the waste and inefficiencies, that is worth far more than the MVET — Peter’s car tax. Yes, they would love to grap the low-hanging fruit to mask over their failures but giving them more money is giving the crack addict just a little more crack to tie them over.
Mark Dombroski needs to have a house cleaning and a frank analysis of where the money has gone.
Keep the pressure up on the Council candidates as to their position of waste, fraud and abuse such as the Peter’s car tax. So far Mr. Winston, Mr. Scales and Ms. DuMont have spoken against the MVET. It would be worthwhile for citizens to pin down the six advancing candidates on their position on MVET.