The facts about tax increases

If you read this newspaper carefully, you’ll already know that your county supervisors are planning to raise your real estate taxes by about 19.% this year. You almost certainly do not know that our County pays about 1.6 million dollars in debt service every year. That’s payments and interest on money that they have borrowed to continue funding all their programs without raising your taxes even more.

Here’s another fact that’s not widely known. Employees of this county enjoy a benefit not available to very many workers….their health insurance premiums are fully paid by the county (that is, by you) in the amount of 900 thousand dollars per year. Every year.

If the supervisors follow through with their planned tax increases, you will face a 19% increase in what you pay to keep a roof over your family’s heads. Do you expect a 19% raise in your income over the next two years? Neither do I. Therefore, we will have to re-adjust our budgets, and put off the planned new car purchase, or postpone adding that extra room to our home.

We need to require our elected officials to operate in the same way we operate our personal finances; if our debts exceed our income, we reduce our spending. So should they.

One of my favorite quotes from former President Reagan is this one: “Government is like a new baby…an insatiable appetite at one end, and no responsibility at the other.” This humorous description, aimed at the Congress, certainly applies locally as well.

At the public meeting about the proposed tax increase, at least 40 citizens were present, and 13 of them spoke. Without exception, all who spoke were opposed to the planned tax increase. No supervisor appeared to be moved by the speakers.

Many of the supervisors have held their position for multiple terms, and seem to feel immune from citizen criticism. You can change that perception. Please find the time to attend the next supervisor’s meeting on May 6, when they will be voting on the tax increase.

Edmund Burke said this over 200 years ago:

“All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” If no one comes to their meeting, the Supervisors will assume that nobody disagrees with their proposal, and it will most likely pass. See you there!

John Jamieson