Letters to the editor Oct. 16

Dillon for Ward 2

This fall, please elect Gabe Dillon of Ward 2, to Kalispell City Council.

As the program coordinator for Foy’s to Blacktail Trails, Gabe’s experience in working with a wide range of different stakeholders and trail users will serve the Council and City well. As our beloved city faces many challenges, including explosive population growth, Gabe is a candidate who can lend his expertise and perspective that engages elected leaders, encourages citizen engagement, and evaluates the long term impacts of policies. His success at FTBT is a testament to his dedication to this community.

The key areas of concern for Gabe are ones that we all share: responsible growth, retaining open spaces, and improving accessibility to our streets, sidewalks, and city trails for our children and all pedestrians. As a mom and a downtown business owner, investing our attention to these areas is critical to maintaining a vibrant and sustainable town. Improving walkability is important for our economic success to our historic downtown, and encourages shoppers and visitors to enjoy the various business offerings. Enough attention has yet to be paid to this key component of what makes a city viable and connected. As a parent, I want safe streets and sidewalks for my children, and this will also provide access to those who need it most too.

Over the years, I’ve seen Gabe’s investment in this community and I know that he will faithfully serve the Kalispell City Council well. He is the right candidate with creative, workable ideas that are focused on the areas that Kalispell needs.

Please vote for Gabe Dillon for Ward 2.

— Maggie Doherty, Kalispell

Your privacy and money at risk

There is an ongoing battle regarding the $3.5 trillion reconciliation plan proposed by the Biden Administration, which includes a provision that would require financial institutions, such as our credit unions, to report to the IRS transactional data for any account with at least $600 of inflows or outflows annually. This unlimited access to consumers’ financial data should raise alarms for anyone with a bank or credit union account.

First and foremost, this plan violates consumers’ privacy by requiring information that does not reflect taxable activity. No evidence has shown that the proposed requirements would substantially aid the IRS’s efforts to close the tax gap beyond the information already at the IRS’s disposal.

In addition, the plan would impose significant compliance costs on financial institutions. The strain credit unions would suffer to meet these requirements will directly impact members. This is especially true for smaller financial institutions located in rural or low-income communities.

Lastly, the government relies on outdated data systems to store and secure IRS information meaning that your personal data is in jeopardy. The IRS experiences an astounding 1.4 billion cyberattacks annually, along with multiple data breaches. We should not give the IRS further sensitive data to manage.

Montana’s Credit Unions are strongly against the IRS provision within the proposed reconciliation plan, and you should be too. We urge you all to contact your congressional leadership today to oppose this immense violation of your privacy.

—Tracie Kenyon is President and CEO of Montana’s Credit Unions

Fab fertilizer

The leaves are falling and homeowners have begun to rake them into the streets to be picked up by the Street Department. Few realize what a fabulous fertilizer composted leaves are.

Up to a third of the dry weight of a leaf is mineral; the rest, carbon extracted from the air.

Here are some tips for those who might be inclined to utilize this resource.

In late October, with the leaves spread evenly across the lawn, mow it as short as possible, mulching the leaves into the grass rather than picking them up to bag and discard. If blessed with an abundance of leaf material, make a bin or two with 12 feet of 2”x 4” or smaller 4’ to 6’ tall mesh fencing, the ends zip tied together. Fill the bin with shredded or unshredded leaves, wetting them as the bin fills. If grass clippings are mixed with the leaves, the composting process will begin almost immediately. If it is just leaves in the bin, earth worms will migrate into the material, eventually turning it into dirt.

For more information and tips about making and utilizing leaf compost, Google - John McGrath leaf compost. McGrath is a former editor of Organic Gardening magazine.

—David Brown, Kalispell