Just because a few council members really want something does not make it a need. Given our precarious budget situation, Mercer Island must focus on needs (police/fire, public safety, roads) rather than wants.

The City Council planning retreat was informative from a number of perspectives, not the least of which was the discussion of the financial state of the city.

Laying the groundwork for this discussion was Mayor Bassett who stated a few months ago: “… the 2017-2018 budgeting cycle is on trajectory to a deficit if adjustments are not made. Those adjustments will be studied and implemented over the next 15 months.” I hope the adjustment that the mayor is referring to is not the sole act of coming to the voters with the City Council’s hand out asking for more money.

It’s easy to balance a budget when you can keep going back to the citizen ATM for more money through the levy lid-lift mechanism. But what happens when the citizens of Mercer Island say no to any levy lid scenario?

Is it possible that the reason we don’t have as many options in terms of city funds is because we haven’t been consistently prudent? Despite the words of “lean” and “strong” being thrown around?

For example: $20,000 for a landscape architect here, $5,000 for communication there, another $100,000 for a consultant who was later replaced with an additional consultant for another $50,000 — all of these smaller expenses add up over time, especially when no one is paying attention to the aggregate. I suspect Islanders are as likely to pass a levy lid lift as they were to pass the first 2012 school bond.

I encourage the council to plan and spend just like most every other family on the island, consistent with their current resources. I encourage not using the citizen credit card just because you don’t believe it has a spending limit.

City Council members, please be bold and courageous in making decisions that will allow us to live within our means because sometimes that means just saying no.

Gary D. Robinson

Mercer Island