The letter writer supporting Kirkland’s Prop 2 is not very well informed. Kirkland’s budget has never been less than the year before. It always grows at a rate four times faster than our cost of living allowance. The money is already there. Taking more than they need to run the City has serious consequences on fixed income citizens and on the earned income of people trying to make ends meet.

The last City budget had $449 million in the coffers. That’s more than enough to fund Kirkland’s Prop 1 and 2 without raising taxes. All that needs to be done is for the Council to stop funding other programs before they fund parks, roads, and pedestrian improvements.

We need to restore Council responsibility without raising taxes. Voting no will do it and will not endanger our quality of life. It will improve without taking more money out of our pockets.

The Council’s list of what the propositions will pay for is a list proof positive that the Council has not done its job to meet the needs of the City.

It’s amazing to me that with the Capital Improvement Budget now exceeding $95 million in unfunded needs, the Council continues to export more than $3 million dollars to outside agencies some of which have nothing to do with government and even after they do, their average budget surplus over the past 20 years has exceeded $12 million dollars annually, the difference between their adopted budget and their end-of-year funds. It always grows. The money is already there.

The writer and the public need to be well informed before voting yes on Prop 1 and 2. With $449 million in the budget, all the Council needs to do is pick and chose the programs that meet the needs of the City. There would be no need to raise taxes.

Robert L. Style, Kirkland