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Health & Fitness

Metro Parks District: raising your taxes again, and again, and again, and again, and again, ...

The MPD creates a tax that will not go away—it's forever. Less than 45% of this tax- increase builds parks. Families continue to struggle financially.

A few points proponents of this property tax increase have not addressed (We tried asking these questions to the pro-tax increase supporters on their Facebook page, but rather than entering into a dialogue they deleted our posts, banning us from asking questions pertaining to the potential property tax increase.)  

1. The MPD creates a tax that will not go away—it’s forever:

You continue to tell citizens that the MPD can go away with a simple majority. Can you give us a recent and local example of a tax-collecting municipality that has been dissolved?

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2. A majority of the MPD-tax will create a new layer of government in the form of MPD management. Less than 45% of this tax-increase builds parks: 

It seems reasonable to think that if this MPD "could include capital projects such as trails, sports facilities or a community center ..." (as stated in your For Statement), this MPD could operate with the same ineptness as Metro Parks Tacoma and their $1.3M deficit. This deficit is primarily due to a decrease in property values combined with an increase in salaries and benefits. According to the Pierce County Assessor-Treasure website, home values in 2012 have declined by over 12% (2102 Values/2013 Taxes, http://www.co.pierce.wa.us/index.aspx?NID=2202). 

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3. Families continue to struggle financially. The only MPD-plan: increase your taxes:

In Pierce County, unemployment fell from 9.7% to 9.3% … this is fantastic news. I’ve heard a million times that the same city insiders have been working on securing dedicated funding for parks for years; is this reason enough to permanently raise taxes on families and businesses as they continue to recover from a lasting recession?

Unemployment is at 9.3%. Home values are down by 12%. Help us help families and businesses recover from the recession by saying NO to a new forever tax … vote Against the metropolitan parks district (MPD), April 23, 2013. 

See more at http://www.nonewparktax.com. Families for a Responsible Bonney Lake: a solutions-minded, pro-parks coalition, asking our elected to be responsible in this economy.

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