To the editor:

Add or raise “user fees”? You mean, raise taxes. That’s what “user fees” are. I have already paid for city facilities with my taxes. But the city, like the university and the state, failed to account for the need to budget sufficiently for operating costs and maintenance. What’s next? A “user fee” for the folks who use the tracks at the high schools for their daily run or walk? How about one for the families who use the parks and playgrounds for picnics and entertainment? Say $1/kid/day?

I think I’ll put up toll booths on the sidewalks around my house. I neither asked for nor want them, but I have to replace and maintain them so that the general public can use them. I get to put up with people damaging my landscaping, leaving litter for me to clean up, and using my yard as a pet waste receptacle. I think I’ll charge a “user fee” of 50 cents per trip down my walks. That should cover the cost I incur each year for snow removal and cleanup. It may help me set aside some funds for the repairs I have to do and the insurance coverage I may need.

I have already paid for these city facilities and am not willing to pay again to use them. Come to think of it, I probably won’t vote for another new amenity project.