Camas resident Lauren Colas is tired of all the taxes and she offers her opposition to the Regional Fire Authority

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are those of the author alone and do not reflect the editorial position of ClarkCountyToday.com

Why in the world are we being taxed right out of our state? Olympia legislators want to triple our property taxes (HB 2049), increase payroll taxes (HB 2045), and even implement an intangible assets tax (SB 5797)! This is insane.

And then on top of that, in the city of Camas, it is trying to create another separate taxing entity, a Regional Fire Authority. This proposed Proposition 1 tax increases our financial burden WITHOUT providing any meaningful improvements to the fire and emergency services that we already receive. This new governing “Authority” board will have the power to implement annual automatic regressive tax increases WITHOUT a vote of the people. If the proposition passes, Camas will also lose ownership of the fire stations, but the residents will still have to pay on the bonds that built them.

I don’t know about you, but it’s rapidly becoming unaffordable to live here anymore for the lower and middle working-class residents. PLEASE VOTE NO on any newly proposed taxes, including Proposition 1 in Camas and Washougal. Our state and local governments need to learn to live within their means … they don’t have a revenue problem; they continue to have a spending problem.

Lauren Colas
Camas

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