One of our founding fathers Ben Franklin famously said – “If you’d be wealthy, think of saving, more than of getting: The Indies have not made Spain rich, because her Outgoes equal her Incomes.” This quote applies to our city government as well.

A good percentage of our property tax(~20%) goes to the city of Sammamish. This is not the lowest rate when compared to some of our surrounding cities which offer same or better services to their citizens. Just as stuff finds its way to fill empty space in a house, new expenses will be thought of to spend the incoming tax revenue. There will also be some voices asking for increases in tax revenue to support some of these expenses.

Sammamish is going through the usual cycle of when things are going well, the good times are extrapolated as continuing indefinitely into the future. Expenses and projects are conceived which increases the cost of government. When the cycle turns as it eventually does, the costs will be borne by the citizens. Recently, we have seen this unfold in Greece as well as many cities in the US.

In this environment, we need a voice that balances needs vs wants. Mr Valderrama is one such voice in the city council. He is a positive rational voice and doesn’t carry an ideological card. Please reelect him to the city council as a voice for fiscal prudence.

-Thirumalesh Bhat, Sammamish