The city of Kent has put in place a vision (strategic plan?) for 2025.
In the past eight years, the city’s financial means to provide for the needs of its constituents has been reactive and challenging. It continues to be.
Our city leadership’s focus continues to be of a reactive nature, resulting in a stopgap approach, pursuing the usual options to obtain the needed dollars to fund the next big ticket must have. The usual options for finding additional funds is being considered by the Sustainability Task Force.
Economic development is not successful. This in an environment that has two of its largest employers withdrawing from Kent – REI and Boeing. The latter represents 4,000 well-paying jobs.
Kent residents and small business owners are most worried about taxes.
One could argue that taxes are increasing faster than inflation due to the increased value of property in an upscale real estate market. This is a slippery slope.
Our current leaders have not had the time, interest or knowledge to realize the benefits of thinking strategically. That being 10-20 years out.
The bottom line is that a majority of Kent residents believe they have been taxed enough and/or do not like the suddenness/surprise put forth to the citizens of Kent for more of their hard earned money. And this is in good times.
The leaders of the city have a dilemma: How to fund the 2025 vision.
What might it cost? Where might the monies come from?
There is a better way to address this problem. Interested? Go to Facebook and look under taxes.
– Jim Renton
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