Call me skeptical, but it appears that San Juan Island EMS is asking the taxpayers to go round three on raising their levy 42% based on just their word. To date, there is no approved and final budget for 2017 or even an updated budget for 2016 to evaluate whether EMS is actually fiscally responsible this go around.

The previous 2 levy increase requests were rejected by taxpayers when it was revealed that the previous administration did not ‘have their ducks in a row’ financially. Now we have a new EMS Administrator who is new to the islands and unknown to most of us. Are we expected to just ‘take his word’ that he will use this 42% levy increase to make our EMS a financially sustainable operation for now and into the future? Is he learning and correcting the errors of the previous administration or is he just continuing the same financial mistakes they made? We should not rush this levy decision and give him a blank check.

With no final approved budgets to review and with the primary only a few weeks away, my skepticism says let’s not rush this process by voting with emotions, instead of facts, for the primary election. Let’s wait until the General Election in November to give them still another chance to get their financial future in order.

Scott Brennan

San Juan Island