I am disappointed that South Kitsap Fire and Rescue has decided to go for the “full” amount for their levy. We all are appreciative of what SKFR offers our community.

However, we seem to have forgotten that not everyone in our community is a city, county, school district or naval base employee with a taxpayer-funded paycheck that experienced little or no impact due to the pandemic. But, we have approximately 37% low-income in our area that were affected as they lost jobs, quit jobs to remain home with their kids, and may now be just getting back to work. It may take years for them to recover what many lost during the pandemic.

The same applies to many of our small businesses. Many were shut down and are now just beginning to reopen. Some survived and some did not. It will take years for them and their employees to make up for what they lost during the pandemic.

But, we just continue to ask for the maximum amount for tax increases instead of remembering that everyone in our community was not as fortunate as those with a taxpayer-funded job. Why don’t we ever ask for what we need, not what we want, and then find a way to spend the excess?

Vote as you wish, but please remember: The pandemic was a hardship for many and increasing taxes does nothing to help folks recover from the pandemic we all experienced.

Jeff Daily

Port Orchard