Tight fists raise danger

The Spokane City Council decision to not raise property taxes by 1 percent was a short-sighted attempt to placate a few citizens who don’t understand the value of our public safety infrastructure.

A fire station will close. When my good friend had a health emergency two years ago, minutes meant the difference between life and death. Fire Station 9 firefighters arrived in less than three minutes and averted what could have been a tragic outcome.

For $4.50 a year, those who value public safety could have kept our fire station open. People who live in areas such as Eagle Ridge that are without adequate fire protection had some hope that a fire station would eventually be built nearby. That hope has been taken away.

Council members Nancy McLaughlin, Mike Fagan, Steve Salvatori and Mike Allen decided that professional first responders aren’t worth the money they are paid because they make a disproportionate amount more than a blue-collar wage earner in Spokane.

I would like to know what a life is worth to those four council members; the worth of our citizens and the employees who put their lives on the line every day they report to work.

Therese Covert

Spokane