It’s good to see our city leaders don’t treat their political timelines like our president. They take the time to learn, instead of tweeting for instant gratification.

As elected officials, it is their job to make decisions based on the community that elected them – representing what the voters want to see happen.

It is also the job of elected officials to educate their community members on topics, like fire annexation, for which they see change needs to be made. This allows voters to understand exactly what they are voting on and how it will affect them personally, in their pocketbooks, and locally within the community.

A heavy topic of discussion, one that would affect taxes, public services and more, was recently postponed indefinitely so leaders could not only educate themselves on the benefits and disadvantages of said topic, but understand the topic enough to educate their community.

On the front page of the April 11 edition of The Leader, writer Chris Tucker explained that City Council members have been unable to fully and accurately get out all points of information regarding fire annexation before the May 11 deadline to place the issue on the August ballot.

Although the topic was postponed indefinitely, it will be brought up again. There is an issue that needs to be address: How to best serve the community when it comes to fire service in the most efficient, beneficial way, with some council members saying the issue could show up as early as the February election.

We applaud the City of Port Townsend for taking time to get it right the first time, for educating itself and for doing so in a way that educates the public on what its officials are voting for or against.

It’s a complicated issue. It is an issue that could not only affect taxes, but could also result in life or death.

Change will need to be made – whether it’s paying for fire service with more taxes or cutting back on services because voters have chosen not to pay more.

However, it is a decision that needs time for understanding the pros and cons, results and sacrifices, and more.

There are so many unanswered questions, from the cost of annexation to the ramifications of both moving forward and waiting, along with what options there are other than annexation. These need to be explained by officials before any decision could be made. The questions, research and studies take more than a two-week period of time to gather accurate information.