I would really enjoy watching the recent proceedings of the North Bend City Council if it were not trying to use the force of law to impose a levy upon the taxpayers of the city.

The actions of the council at the Oct. 2 meeting are just the latest in a long line of questionable processes being used in an attempt to secure the Tollgate property. Citizens are usually given three minutes to comment at the outset of a council meeting, however, when a member of the Planning Commission (whose findings are opposed to the Tollgate development project) stood to speak, Mr. Sollitto immediately moved to give him five minutes.

When a citizen stood to oppose the Tollgate bond and asked repeatedly for the same consideration, he was limited to three minutes and then mocked by the mayor at the close of proceedings when the citizen was unable to enter into a colloquy. This is becoming a disturbing pattern at the council: Just shut-up and pay more taxes; we want your money, not your opinion.

Perhaps it is time that the cash cow (North Bend taxpayers) starts to kick back. The best way is to vote “no” on the Tollgate bond.

North Bend taxpayers also gained some valuable insight into the motivation of the Friends of Tollgate with the letters from Ms. Klacsan and Ms. McKibben last week. Ms. Klacsan repeated the “It’s less than a 5 percent property tax increase, not 35 percent” mantra, which, as we all know, refers to the total property tax amount, not the city’s portion, which does represent a 35 percent increase.

If you want independent verification, I urge you to review Mayor Simpson’s column in the Valley Record of Sept. 13, where she states, “The North Bend portion (of the property tax) goes up 35 percent, but the assessment represents a mere 5 percent increase in your total property tax.”

Since we are being asked as the city of North Bend’s non-exempt taxpayers to pay for this bond, perhaps we should refer to the relevant percentage increase, which is 35 percent. I must apologize for not putting in the endless hours attending the Planning Commission meetings. I was busy trying to earn the money you are trying to extract from me. I don’t even disagree with the commission’s findings, I just missed the part where they said the city should buy Tollgate and plow it up for ball fields, trails and the requisite parking lots.

The irony of Ms. McKibben’s xenophobic remarks were not lost on those of us who live in the new Si View and Forster Woods developments. The very fact that the Friends of Tollgate are asking those of us that they obviously never wanted to become residents of North Bend to pay for the majority of the Tollgate bond is very telling. We owe the Friends of Tollgate nothing but a resounding “no” vote Nov. 6.

Ross Loudenback

North Bend