Bellingham hikes property tax 7.6% in last minute money grab

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The mayor has hiked his salary almost 50%. They shelled out money for a government pool that the voters voted down 8 times. They've squandered money on a skateboard park and a city newsletter (propaganda sheet) that nobody appreciates but since I-695 didn't pass in Bellingham, they believe that residents want a tax increase.

-- (Samizdat@home.com), November 09, 1999

Answers

Bellingham has the usual problems of a college town, massively liberal faculty urging liberal votes from students who either aren't paying the taxes that they vote for, or often do not realize that these taxes get rolled up in their rents. No easy fix for that situation. If you are going to accept the economic benefits of having a public university in town, there are going to be costs. That's the cross you must bear, so to speak. Count your blessings theat you have Western and not Evergreen State.

-- Mark Stilson (mark842@hotmail.com), November 09, 1999.

They're practically the same. WWU is Evergreen North except that they at least have a modicum of academic standards - much more than can be said for Evergreen. And they don't invite convicted cop killers to speak at graduation. But WWU is home of the environmentalist wackos and pinko leftists that UW wouldn't take.

Daily I count my blessings that I'm at WSU - this area being fairly conservative keeps the libs at the school in check. Witness: Mike Connelly getting his a-- handed to him on a silver platter by Don Cox. Seriously, Cox won by about 30 points, keeping the state House in GOP hands. While I'm disappointed with the GOP on a number of things, had both houses of the state legislature gone Democrat, they would probably be figuring out a way to repeal 695.

"When the pitch is 'Pay us what we want or we will cost you more,' it is the type of negotiations one usually sees when doing business with one of the five families in New York."

--U.S. District Judge Joe Kendall, citing the Allied Pilots Association in contempt of court for their illegal American Airlines "sickout."

-- Joe Hylkema (josephhy@wsu.edu), November 09, 1999.


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