Annapolis Capital Punishment

Dear Editor,

I was surprised to get a bill from the city for a $25 sidewalk-fee. This is ridiculous. The facts are, city residents are dealing with massive increases in taxes on the state and local level, we are in the middle of a recession which is raising prices on everything from food to clothes, our gas prices are through the roof, our BGE costs are increasing at an astromical [sic] level, and now our city council is levying new fees on simple homeowners who are just scraping by?

At what point do we say NO MORE TAXES or FEES? At what point will the city council stop enacting ridiculous and costly legislation that hurts overtaxed Annapolitans who are forced to fund city’s already excessive $85M budget?

What are we paying taxes for if we also have to pay fees for services that should clearly fall under the purview of the city services budget? What’s next, a fee to pay for flowers and pots? Will we start paying fees for firefighting, policing, and EMT’s? How about a fee for roadway improvements? Or even, how about fee for the Mayor’s desk-cleaning service?

If our taxes aren’t going to pay for basic city services, exactly what is the mayor wasting our hard-earned tax money on?

Michael Van Geertruy, Chairman
Annapolis Republican Central Committee