The Citizens to Keep Auburn Moving have done a good job getting our community to understand and recognize an ongoing roads problem. Yes, we have a problem, but I would like to respectfully submit a different side of the story.

Most of us in the last four years have had to do more with less money. Certainly the City and our businesses have had less, to accomplish the same or more than in the past. The federal and state governments have continued to borrow on our – and our children’s – future.

It does not make sense that our community should follow that example by substantially increasing our property taxes for years and years to come. Our current property taxes have continued to rise (9.5 percent in the last two years for us) on declining values. Our children will be asking what we were thinking in 2018 to 2032 when the full force of the increase will be realized.

Our city has done a commendable job attracting new business and employment to Auburn. A big property tax increase for just Auburn will be a hard sell if economic development is a priority, which I believe it is.

A more novel approach, which might be naïve in its simplicity, is to spend on our roads as we earn the money to do so. If in fact our businesses can get back into a growth mode and Auburn attracts new businesses, sales tax revenue would increase dramatically. Who knows what the state and federal governments are going to do, but there may be opportunities to join our increased revenue with one of their programs and have a lucrative funding source.

The state and federal governments’ talk of increased taxes and fees keep swirling about. The timing (after the last four years) for a substantial property tax increase many years into the future shouldn’t be supported.

I respect Auburn’s leadership trying to move the community forward, but the timing of this is not good. Vote no on the road bond April 17.

– Way Scarff