Levy request is too much to ask of Whitefish citizens

Now we have yet another school levy upon us in Whitefish. How much is too much? I will NOT be voting for this levy in the Oct. 3 election and here is my reasoning:

On May 2, 2017 the voters of Whitefish passed an elementary school operational levy. Most taxpayers do not realize that this levy is a permissive perpetual levy, which means it will continue indefinitely. In 2012 the voters of Whitefish passed the $14 million 20-year Whitefish High School levy. In 2003 the voters passed the Whitefish Middle School 20-year levy; the current balance is $3.5 million and this will sunset (fall off our tax bill) in the year 2023 (six years).

Now we will be asked to vote in the Oct. 3, 2017 election for a $26.5 million levy to build the proposed new Muldown Elementary School. This levy will run for 20 years, and will add approximately $130 per year (for a home valued at $240,000) to our tax bills. It seemed that the general consensus of the committee, formed to look at all the different options for the school, was to tear down the existing building and start from scratch. I’m not yet convinced that is the most economical option. The school is surrounded by many homes in the downtown area that are over 100 years old. These homes (in many cases) are still standing and functioning because they were maintained, remodeled and upgraded as needed. So shouldn’t it also be the responsibility of the School District to do the same to a school which is a young 50 years old and why did it fall into such disrepair?

We also have to consider the fact that property values in Whitefish are increasing, and because this is a new appraisal cycle, those values will increase our taxes across the board. This is in addition to the fact that the city of Whitefish has stated that there will be another increase for operating expenses. And don’t forget we also will be facing substantial increases in our water and sewer rates with the upgrade of the sewage facility.

Increases, increases, and more increases. I feel this is a lot to ask of the citizens of Whitefish. I’m not against schools but I am against the stacking of levies onto the backs of Whitefish citizens. Can’t we possibly wait until one levy sunsets before adding another? In light of the aforementioned I cannot support the building of another school at this time.

Karen Nicoletti, Whitefish