Two bills are before our Legislature, Senate Bill 5242 and House Bill 1221. Both deal with reducing the county wide transportation district specifically to support a passenger only ferry system. These bills would basically cut out of the voting process many Kitsap County taxpayers and voters.

The smaller ferry district would include much of the retail areas in the county so those same taxpayers and voters who were left out of the voting process would pay the sales tax, said to be at least 0.3 percent.

If you want our 23rd, 26th and 35th District elected officials to know your opinion, now is the time. All of Kitsap Counties officials, 23rd, 26th and 35th districts elected to Olympia sponsored and fully support these bills.

They do not think the voters in the Kitsap County Transportation District can make a decision on such an important subject but are fully willing to let us pay any sales taxes or fees Kitsap Transit can create.

I say let every voter/taxpayer in the county wide transportation district vote on whether to support a passenger only ferry system. Do not reduce the transportation district and do not leave out many taxpayers and voters from having a say on such an expensive project.

To Kitsap Transit, I say improve the bus service. Even now the Port of Bremerton, Port Orchard and Bremerton are funding summer weekend and holiday service while Kitsap Transit focus’s on spending millions on passenger only ferry service.

Roger Gay | Port Orchard