Over the past month you have been bombarded with mountains of data and emotional appeals to do the right thing and vote yes for the upcoming property tax initiative. You have also been subject to an equal number of Doubting Thomas suggestions that the financial need is a hoax, the problem will disappear on its own and that we should never trust the judgement of any of the professionals we hire or officials we elect.

So here is the real bottom line. We passed up the chance to fix this problem 10 years ago with a $4 million property tax. This year we have the opportunity to fix the same problem again, this time with a $7 million property tax. If you honestly believe the expense to repair and maintain our roads, parks and buildings will actually get cheaper in years ahead; or, if you believe our nearly $8 million annual fire and police protection expense will go down rather than up, then your choice is clear. Simply vote no and accept the risk that next time the cost will not grow to $10, $12 or $15 million!

My hard-working Midwestern parents taught me to face up to my responsibilities, plan ahead and take care of problems as they arise. Delay almost always leads to disaster. Do the right thing, vote yes for the solution this time.