Discussion by Councilperson Barry Peters at COBI Finance Committee last week revealed the euphemistically dubbed “car-tab fee” (MVET) is about to be foisted on Bainbridge taxpayers.

Yes, there has been much hue and cry to getting back to core COBI missions and adding new taxes can’t get much more basic apparently.

This “fee” is a motor-vehicle excise tax (MVET). Yes, a tax – $20 per vehicle per year per forever.

Before the rush to add new taxes for roads, Peters answer me this: Why are you spending $257,000 to Bainbridge Island Television for airing your council meetings in 2009?

Are roads more important than a Hollywood extravaganza airing of council meetings at $400 per hour of production time?

Use the BITV funding to fix potholes and top-coat maintenance and we the people will simply watch COBI meetings in person. Or ask one of the innovative local IT people to have COBI meeting audio streamed on the Internet for free. (COBI already does audio recording and posting.)

Another protected special-interest getting COBI tax money before roads are the arts (BIAHC) with payments over $100,000 for 2009 and double that for 2008. Roads trump art but roads don’t have council political protection.

The COBI-Peters car tax is a de facto tax to pay for the arts and extravagant publicity-filming of COBI meetings.

Stop MVET and put council filming and the arts to vote for taxation if that is what the people demand. Just because the MVET is tempting low-hanging fruit for COBI council does not mean that is fair or just in our new political and economic environment.

Let the voters decide what taxes they want to pay and you, council, stop with your profligate spending patterns.

James M. Olsen

Soundview Drive