Yes or no on Measure E?
EDITOR: I am grappling with Measure E on the ballot in November. It is vitally important to have adequate fire and emergency services, especially now with the ongoing threats of wildfires. I totally respect and thank the volunteer firefighters for their service, and hope they get all they need to keep us safe.
My quandary is that more and more funding of these services, and I will include funding for schools, road repair and general infrastructure repair, is being passed off to us, as citizens, rather than our governments — local, state and federal — whose responsibility it is to provide for our safety, education and environmental protections. A glance at our property tax bills shows how many measures we individuals are paying for that should be the responsibility of our governments. Sadly, our local governments seem to come up short in their budgets in their responsibilities. Perhaps this is because money is being squandered to pay for an enormous defense/war machine and big tax breaks for mega corporations and the very rich, leaving very little for local budgets. Obviously, this is not an easy problem to solve! In the meantime, I hope that all sources of funding from grants have been exhausted, and if nothing is available, I will vote for Measure E and work toward changing our societal priorities.
Sammy Nasr
Sebastopol
