I just caught a portion of a City Council committee on Channel 21, and I think I heard Councilman Dennis Higgins proposing that a new fee be established with Republic Services garbage disposal, which will end up raising all of our garbage rates.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but it appears that the council is doing an end-around maneuver after the voters voted “no” to a tax to fund Kent’s streets and roads renovation. This garbage hike is the council’s way of thumbing their noses at the voters.
The proper venue for additional funds for Kent’s streets and roads is the business and occupation (B&O) tax. The Kent Chamber of Commerce forced the city to strictly use B&O tax for valley roads that the chamber designated on the infamous “list.” The Chamber hates the B&O tax.
So the City Council, upon which business owners serve, is kowtowing to the chamber and finding another way to wrench money from Kent residents to pay for the damage done by the businesses in the Valley, which is the fourth-largest industrial area in the nation.
It’s the 16-wheelers that ruin our streets – not Kent residents’ passenger cars.
The B&O tax is where the city should be drawing funds for highway repair. The companies that do the damage need to pay the piper.
Higher garbage rates is not an appropriate maneuver to force residents to pay for corporations’ destruction of the roads. Just because you don’t like our vote doesn’t justify invalidating our vote and doing the bidding of the Chamber of Commerce and the businesses it represents.
– Sandra Gill
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