Do you think the current Washington State tax system is fair? Does Washington State need new tax revenue to fund current services adequately? What is your top priority for government spending? Do you support Initiative 1098?

These are the questions you'll find on our poll - and the questions we'll be discussing on Thursday, September 30th during our next (free!) Seattle Speaks program, "Income Tax in Washington State?"

So far we have confirmed for the conversation: William H. Gates Sr. and Matt McIlwain, Managing Director of Madrona Venture Group. More to come!

Check it out:

This fall Washington State voters will be asked to approve a state income tax on top earners. Initiative 1098 would impose an income tax on couples earning more than $400,000, and individuals earning more than $200,000 a year. The estimated $1 billion generated annually would be restricted by law to education and public health services. Proponents say this funding is needed to maintain the integrity of vital services, while opponents argue it opens the door for more taxation and hurts small businesses.

And more about Seattle Speaks:

Join us for Seattle Speaks: Income Tax in Washington State either at Town Hall or online. Audience members will participate with instant polling devices. Online viewers can also take the polls and voice opinions via emails, Twitter and Facebook.  

Did I mention this event is FREE to attend? We do, however, require advance registration, so click here to sign up! Town Hall is only so big, so don't miss out.

(And don't forget to take the poll! Weigh in on this important issue!)

People in IT and tech support often tell me they solve many problems by "knowing how to Google". Often, just typing the problem into a Google search box pulls up dozens of results - people who have had the problem before, who are asking about it and having their questions answered on bulletin boards and community tech support pages of all varieties. (Of course, you also have to understand what they're saying on these bulletin boards - which is where good IT knowledge comes in handy!) CityClub recently tapped into one of these communities for some website assistance - Elliott Bangs, our Membership & IT Coordinator, shares a bit about the adventure:

Drupal, the software that runs our website, is the product of a vast, ongoing, highly collaborative, and largely volunteer effort, made possible by the contributions of thousands of users, designers and programmers around the world. The global Drupal community includes many regional communities, one of which is the Seattle Drupal Users' Group (also known as SEADUG - http://groups.drupal.org/seattle). When CityClub needed a small but technically complex change made to the code of our website, we posted a volunteer request there. Within days, we had the help we needed - from a developer who actually resides in Chicago, but who was nonetheless glad to lend his expertise to our project.

Our massive thanks go out to Sean Fitzpatrick, our long-distance tech-support, for his information and guidance all the way from Chicago. On the homefront, Elliott hopes to get involved in SEADUG himself, once he feels more confident in his Drupal abilities (We know he has them! We've seen it!) in order to give a little something back to an incredibly helpful community!

As usual, there's something for everyone in this year's Community Matters Campaign (CMC) programming. Things are coming together, and we wanted to give you a heads up about our events - so that when the events are all confirmed, you're ready to put the dates on your calendar!

• Tuesday, September 21 - A Conversation with David Gregory, Moderator, "Meet the Press" (click the link to sign up today!)
• Thursday, September 30 - Seattle Speaks: Income Tax in Washington State? (click the link to sign up today!)
  
• Education Series: A System in Crisis? - Leadership Discussion
• Health Care Series: Do You Know Where Your DNA is?
• Election Debates
• A Conversation with Seattle Police Chief John Diaz
• Environment & Sustainability Series: Alternative Energy
• Finale Celebration and People's Choice Awards
• Community Dialogues on Public Trust (Want to host one? Click here to learn how.)
  
• Online Living Voters Guide on state wide initiatives (More info coming soon! This will be very exciting.)

We can't wait to see you at one of our events during CMC!

Yesterday we announced our next Seattle Speaks program with The Seattle Channel and Town Hall: "Income Tax in Washington State? The Initiatuve 1098 Debate".

This fall Washington State voters will be asked to approve a state income tax on top earners. Initiative 1098 would impose an income tax on couples earning more than $400,000, and individuals earning more than $200,000 a year. The estimated $1 billion generated annually would be restricted by law to education and public health services.

Proponents say this funding is needed to maintain the integrity of vital services, while opponents argue it opens the door for more taxation and hurts small businesses. What do you think?

You may remember why the Seattle Speaks series is awesome: not only can you participate via live audience in the room at Town Hall - you can also participate in advance via pre-polling, and also during the program via email and Twitter while you're watching the program live from your computer or television. We'll have Seattle Channel and CityClub staff constantly monitoring the various avenues for online participation, and passing opinions and questions on - so your voice can be heard even without attending!

We've been blogging about this series pretty regularly: click here for photos, links to past videos, etc. Keep an eye on CityBlog between now and September 30 for any pre-polls or other advance information about the event! Don't forget this event is free - but you must register in advance. Sign up today!