I have long held that the responsibility for other people’s money is a sacred trust. I have had such fiduciary responsibility in my career and I considered it a very high calling. That is evidently not a practice of everyone who has this responsibility

Currently I am the president of the Bainbridge Ratepayers Alliance. Some of us formed this organization because we discovered that there exists the expropriation of our water, sewer and storm water utility funds by those entrusted to protect us. This practice had grown to a point where we considered it unlawful and we eventually filed a lawsuit to end this practice.

Even today, in spite of strong evidence of this wrongdoing, there are those City Council members who ignore the misdeeds because they interfere with their agenda. Some have gone so far as to violate the rules that govern their actions by organizing citizen protest against our actions while we try to protect the citizens’ money. Shame on you.

We have been continually exhorted to “come to the table.” I have been to the table and the table was bare. I have been talking to the city since December. I have been to seven meetings and have not reached resolution. Further, we wrote two letters that went unanswered. Finally this May we filed our lawsuit.

This city has about 35 lawsuits against it. Most are the frustrated response from citizens like us who want fair dealing. We changed our form of government to achieve this, and we need to see that it happens.

We are currently dealing with four members of the council who are trying to reach resolution. Some members of the staff and council have resorted to public scare tactics to pressure us. We are resolute that the plundering of our utility funds must stop and we will do what is legal and necessary to achieve that end.

Don’t believe everything you hear about the pending crises. It is highly exaggerated and intended to pressure us. It is not working on us. Don’t let it work on you. Go to our Web site at bainbridgeratepayersalliance to see what we are saying.

Dick Allen

Bainbridge Island