To the Editor:

First of all, I would like to thank the voters in Dayton, for turning out during our recent elections. Our participation was the third highest in the state.

During the local campaigns for Mayor and City Council members, there was an endless amount of false information posted on social media. False accusations, misleading or erroneous information, did not afford the public the necessary and factual information they needed, prior to casting their votes. This demonstrated that social media is not the most reliable source of information, when preparing to cast your vote. Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets, can and do offer information on a wealth of topics, but should not be relied upon as your sole source of information, in your decision making process. If you have questions, I would advise you to attend the meetings at City Hall, Port of Columbia or Columbia County Commissioner’s when seeking information on local issues. Then, make your decisions based on facts, not innuendoes, false information or divisive rhetoric.

There are critical issues facing the City of Dayton, least of which is our waste water treatment plant. The Department of Ecology has mandated that Dayton cease discharging waste water into the Touchet River. Like all mandates from either the State or Federal levels, there is no corresponding revenue to support these issues. Therefore, it falls upon the citizens of Dayton to fund the project on our own. The Council is working hard to find ways to minimize the impact on the local taxpayers. Our infrastructure, including the pool, are in dire need of upgrading. The City doesn’t have the funds available in our budget to accomplish all of the issues needing to be addressed. The City’s tax base has been stagnant for years, while demands from the public continue to increase. Until we can expand the tax base through increases in population and improved housing opportunities, the tax burden on local taxpayers will continue to increase. With a newly elected Mayor and Council members, I look forward to working with the community to address the city’s needs. Council members are ready and willing to meet you one on one to discuss issues of interest to you, do feel free to contact us anytime. Hope to see you at your council meetings.

Dain Nysoe