I want to thank Richard Hildreth, mayor of the City of Pacific and Valley Regional Fire Authority governance board member, for his response to my letter and enlightening me on the facts and statistics on the new VRFA ladder truck.

However, I knew all those facts that he pointed out. I know there was a measure placed on the Feb. 2008 state presidential primary ballot. I know that the measure was to purchase equipment, build and upgrade fire stations. But were the voters specifically informed how much would be spent buying this equipment, building a new fire station in Lakeland Hills and remodeling fire station 32 in south Auburn?

I’m sorry, Mr. Hildreth, no matter how much you try to justify the cost of these expenditures, I do not agree with the spending. I’m tired of my property taxes being raised and my money being squandered. The money could have been put to better use. In these catastrophic economic times, government needs to learn to conserve and not be so flagrant with tax payers money.

– Jeanne Herold