Proposition 2 is the Kirkland parks levy and if passed will add 16 cents per $1,000 of assessed value to your property taxes each year. This will increase your taxes by an average of $55 per year. Forever.

The fact sheet provided by Kirkland shows a good breakdown of where the money will go and what will be accomplished with the funds in the next seven years. Personally I think the projects are well thought out and that we would all benefit from them.

However, if we have a nice seven-year plan, why don’t we have a nice seven-year levy? I am concerned that once the projects are finished the entire levy amount will get rolled into general Parks Department operations leaving the original Parks Department budget to be absorbed by the city for other priorities. This is how you end up with Chihuly chandeliers in City Hall.

The citizens of Kirkland should be able to look back in seven years and see if the proposed projects were completed and that our money was well spent. We should also be able to see what new projects are on the table and determine if we want to fund them.

I would like to see these projects go forward, but I’m not sure I want to commit the funds forever or send this back to City Hall and force them to be more accountable.

To view the Proposition 2 fact sheet for yourself, you can go to the City of Kirkland’s website: www.kirklandwa.gov

Jim Boril, Kirkland