I haven't sat down and studied the RFA proposal in detail, but I have lots and lots of questions out the gate -- the first one being this: is Tumwater a viable municipality that can deliver city services of the quality desired within the revenue constraints it has?
I think everyone would agree that emergency services are quintessential core services of a city, and if Tumwater isn't fiscally able to deliver those core services without a Rube Goldberg regional fire authority, then maybe the whole municipal apparatus of Tumwater isn't viable.
I hope that's not offensive to anyone as that's not my intent. I intend only to say it's time that we face reality, which is that, all over the country, we've developed in such a non-productive and expensive manner that cities and towns in every state are bankrupt if you honestly book their actual liabilities (what they have to maintain) vs assets (claim on property tax revenues).
Ultimately, if Tumwater isn't capable of funding its own core services on its own tax base, then why spend all the money having a separate government at all?
Businesses merge all the time, and sometimes cities and towns must as well.
Please explain the inappropriate content below.
