Seattle Parks

DO NOT TAKE POWER AWAY FROM THE VOTERS!!!!!!! This is a terrible way to fund parks. Every one loves a park. Voters have generously passed a parks levy every six years. Seattle is pro-parks. Prop 1 isn’t a replacement of the existing parks levy. With the support of Mayor Ed Murray, Proposition 1 proposes a new PERMANENT taxing authority controlled by the City Council. We now pay 20 cents per thousand dollars on assessed amount. This would go to 33 cents and could be UPPED anytime with no way for taxpayers/property owners to control it. They could fund anything they wanted to.

Red flag comes up here. Under state law this new district cannot be dissolved by a public vote. Neither would citizens be able to file initiatives against decisions they disagree with. WOW that is plain and simple handing the City Council and Mayor a blank check.

This takes all the power away from the voters. Do you want to give the City Council a blank check after the City Light CEO pay raise screw up. Only two Council Members, Nick Licata and Sawant Kshama voted against giving the raise. I hope the rest of the council members are enjoying eating crow but I don’t think it bothers them one bit. One Council Member emailed that she realized it was hard for “US” to understand the huge salaries but they have to do it to get the best talented help. (yes it is a little hard for me to understand since I live on $20,000/year What you got was a little “liar”. City Light has not been that great. The amount of money does not guarantee good leadership. To even think you would consider giving the head of city light (paid from our light bills) a $120,000 raise is almost beyond my imagination. Shame on you guys. The whole city is top heavy. The Mayor has big dreams, you have a rubber stamp. What we need is to get all of you that voted for the raise booted out. Property taxes are way way to high. To many people getting freebies and the ones of us left paying are on overload. Evidently the CEO wasn’t pressuring much to get a raise of that proportion because he says now he is content to stay at his old salary. He should be fired. This proves the city council did not give it any thought. Just wanted to back the Mayor and brag how great the salaries are for city workers. Hopeful that will all start to go down hill and we will get a new crop of council members that remember they work for the people, not the other way around. Your heads got way way to big.
Lilly