As a Canadian citizen and a past long-term permanent resident of Cortes who — when I am not on Cortes — lives in Los Angeles, I was delighted to see a hall tax possibility move forward. Yes, I realise that my property would have the mil rate applied, even though I only enjoy the benefits of the hall on a part time basis. I feel that giving financial stability to this key public facility is the responsibility of a caring community. Anything less is mean and shortsighted.
If you have not already read De Clarke’s “Hall Tax: Cortes is Different” 2 October 2018, I encourage you to do so. She names many similar communities on the coast and shows, with few exceptions, that communities fund their halls. We need to do this as well. Community halls are the wellspring of so many good things. In our case the hall spawned the library, the health center, and the radio station, to name only three. I can only guess what beneficial organizations, large and small, the future will bring. But this is dependent on a stable community centre. As I am not currently a legal resident I cannot vote in the coming election, so I am appealing to you to approve the hall tax when the referendum comes up.