In considering our upcoming change-of-government vote, I would like us to contemplate what it is we want our government to do, no matter the form. With the so-called “meltdown” of the world’s economic system still reverberating strongly, we must ask if we are aiming for long-term sustainability.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wondered where growth would stop – if building homes never stopped, if companies conglomerating never stopped, if tapping into finite natural resources never stopped. And the final one, if a booming population never stopped. The universe might be expanding, but the earth certainly isn’t.

With a city whose financial viability is based on “healthy” housing construction, we will find ourselves with no choice but to continue until our island (a microcosm of the non-expanding earth for sure) reaches build-out. At which point, the tax revenue from such a dense suburban landscape may support a broad range of government services.

But we will be a dense suburb, with a parcel map similar to much-maligned Mercer Island. Nothing against it, but I moved here, not there, for a reason.

I’m no expert, but my still-developing thoughts are that we need to adjust our priorities before we can adjust our budget underpinnings.

1. Clean jobs. Facilitate business growth to offset loss of building fees with sales and B&O tax revenue. I know many people would prefer to work on Bainbridge if they had the chance rather than commuting, myself included. A small part of this effort would be to tap into the potential of the fiber-optic internet line that Kitsap County has installed here.

2. Promote tourism, though not the chintzy T-shirt shop style we all abhor. I don’t want to mindlessly jump on the green bandwagon, but there is a great movement afoot of people trying to achieve a more sustainable lifestyle without moving to a commune, and there are brilliant people here with ideas that could help them. We could, with our close proximity to a major city, promote eco-tourism in partnership with groups such as the Day Road farms and Islandwood.

3. Continue to expand our open space bond program. Our landscape is not going to stay pastoral with the bulk of unbuilt land in private ownership. Most of us cringe when we see another stand of trees brought down for a home or new neighborhood; though the chainsaws are quiet now, this lull is temporary. It’s unfair to criticize anyone who wants to develop or sell property; that is a right. But as a community, if we value the open space that perhaps drew us here, then public ownership is the only way to equitably maintain it.

As for how to vote when your ballot arrives… I heard some clear arguments supporting the council-manager form at the high school meeting last week; it seems like a more straightforward way for the will of the people to be translated into action, less chance for political power struggles, and more open information. Hopefully with a more responsive form of government we’ll be able to maintain our piece of paradise.

Brian Berdan

Eagle Harbor Drive