I got my nice little welcome to the City of Kirkland letter along with a demand for several hundred dollars to keep my business operating as it has for the last 23 years at the same address. What a handy little windfall for the City of Kirkland!

Every little home-operated or retail business in the annexation area is welcomed to the city by being required to cough up significant licensing fees or face even more significant fines and penalties. Yet another stripe across the backs of the small business owner.

Remember when the small business was the backbone of America? Now it is the fallback of America for finance.

It is despicable that the city would squeeze our businesses for more money. What can we expect to get in return for being within the new city limits? More fees? Maybe the city ought to rename Juanita, Kingsgate and Totem Lake to Sherwood, Nottingham and Barnsdale.

Wendell Bruner, Finn Hill