We need to stop this insanity. Every time I turn around someone else is raising prices or charging more for services. Basic things like gas, electricity, water, sewer, trash and food. I live and work in Lakeport and I am outraged by the proposed increase that the city wants to impose on its customers for water and sewer. And, yes, I have written a letter to the city expressing my objections, but it”s not just that. It”s everyone and every where.
My propane has gone up more than 300 percent in the past five years along with gas prices. Our mandatory trash service just increased its fees.
We all know that food prices have doubled and tripled in the past few years. That”s still not the end of it. There”s road tax and snack tax and cigarette tax and gas tax and tax on your phone bill.
Now there is talk about adding a tax to fix the lake and fix the roads even though the lake can”t be fixed and the roads don”t seem to get any better in spite of the fact that we keep paying taxes and assessments. Lakeport put in Handicap ramps on corners on Main Street and Forbes in places where there aren”t even sidewalks.
If they put in sidewalks, it would make more sense but they expect the property owners to pay for the sidewalks, which will then be used by the general public. Who”s the winner here? Property owners in the city are expected to pay for everything and get nothing in return but higher rates and more taxes. No wonder so many people are losing their homes and/or businesses and crime has increased. Everyone I know has only a certain amount of money to live on and when it”s gone, it”s gone. There is no more. Every dollar increase on one thing means that some thing else has to be reduced.
However, if everything keeps going up except income, where does it end? When there is no more “Peter” to rob from what are we supposed to do? It just has to stop and stop now. I say there should be no more increases of any kind for a while. If everything just remains status quo for a while, maybe we can have a chance to catch our breath, breathe the clean Lake County air and start to enjoy living again.
Karen Ford
Lakeport
