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Still Alice (2014)

I have several questions about a NID -- first of which is, what do we need the money for? And if there is need, would updating plans for including more and new people into our local community organizations be more useful and equitable way to raise the funds and people-power needed in the long run since it helps to build capacity and creates a healthy community of people working together to address problems in democratic ways? That would certainly always be my preference. I'd be happy to think about ways that we could do this here in Wast Wash with others who might be interested in order to address the needs that folks are concerned about. I know that I would rather participate than pay an additional local tax … and it would be good to participate too given I've been here over 14 years already! I should also mention that I have concerns about city-wide inequities here and therefore a range of questions about this -- for example, what does this mean for those who might want to buy in this neighborhood? For those who might find themselves struggling suddenly to pay taxes (whether age, unemployment, etc.)? And what does it mean for us, an affluent neighborhood, to essentially have our own tax-levying abilities comparable to the city when other neighborhoods don't? What happens as demographics shift over time (they always do)? Philly is my hometown and I, like I'm sure you do too, care deeply about the well-being of Philadelphia as a whole. And in thinking that way, I tend to believe that it's probably not healthy to create a situation that separates one neighborhood off from the rest. So that is another thing I've been wondering -- what would the consequences of NID be neighborhood to neighborhood? I tend also to think it's false logic that neighborhoods can be separated. Unless we work together we all ultimately end up with the same mess. Then there is a question of power and the power that this NID board would have to levy taxes -- essentially neighbor against neighbor. I think that seems kind of worrisome to me and although you talk about the board a bit in your FAQ I think that's a really potentially tricky thing to do and I'd want to hear a very careful and thoughtful plan about how to do this if the vote went in this direction. So I guess my biggest questions are: what is the impact on all of that when neighbors are making these kinds of decisions about their own neighbors? What are the issues across neighborhoods to consider for a whole city to be healthy? Is this another layer of government  ... or is it something else? How is that all managed? And to what end? Thanks for asking -- happy to engage in further discussion. Christina