Elfin Cove
Dear Editor: Hoonah should leave Elfin Cove out of its borough proposal.
The move to incorporate Elfin Cove into a new borough is bad politics and bad for Elfin Cove.
We operate our local utilities and government without taxing our residents or our businesses.
We do everything on a volunteer basis. What Hoonah is proposing will take money from us, and yet we will still operate our utilities and our local government as we always have. It is bad policy to create government and tax the people solely to pay for government.
I noticed that Hoonah drew lines around Pelican and Gustavus and Tenakee Springs when they mapped out their proposed colony. Why did they feel the need to include Elfin Cove?
Whoever is behind this wants to tax our residents and businesses and yet there has been nothing said about what we will get in return outside of vague reference to “greater economic development,” Hoonah avoided a fight with Pelican and Gustavus because they didn’t have the will to take them on.
Hoonah needs to prove that it will benefit Elfin Cove to be part of its borough. They haven’t even made an effort to show that we will gain from this proposal. Why aren’t they trying to sell us on the idea? Because they don’t believe that they have to. That is bad news for the community of Elfin Cove, and an omen of what it would be like to be governed by Hoonah. Sincerely,
Tony Magart, Elfin Cove
