First order of business today is to travel with 5 others to our county seat to plead for higher taxes. Yes, you read that right, I want higher taxes. In spite of reports our US economy is about to turn a corner and get out of recession, the newly printed county, city, and school district budgets say something completely different. Unlike the federal government, everything from the state of Kansas down has to run on a balanced budget. With no appetite to impose much of a tax increase on angry voters, budgets are being slashed all over the state, even with massive cuts, property tax rates are going up to make up for slumping revenues..
I hate paying property taxes ever since I built a new machine shed and was slapped with $1000 annual tax on it. I have gone through the formal protest appeal and was unsuccessful. I tend to believe our county has a good deal of waste in the road department they could cut. So, why am I upset with our county commisioners for trying to keep a lid on our mill levy?? Because like all good politicians, rather than cut where cuts need to be made, they cut where it will hurt the public the most, public safety, fire, ambulance, and police. Over the last 5 years 3 other times I have pleaded with them for higher funding for our fire department, pointing out each time that with all volunteer labor, the money spent for equipment and fuel pretty much all benefits the taxpayers directly. With nearly 600000 acres of tallgrass prairie in the county that is highly flammable for at least 6 months out of the year, you would tend to believe fire protection would be very important to our county leaders, however it is not, and never has been. Finally last year we were able to persuade them to put out a fire budget that was somewhere close to being realistic, now it has gone up in smoke, no pun intended.
Since today is the budget hearing, a time where as a rule taxpayers go to protest the taxes going up, we are going to protest that the levy must be higher to adequately fund the fire service(the total proposed for 2010 is $135000 as opposed to $173000 for 2009 to cover a county of about 1100 square miles). This position will not be popular with many of my neighbors, who wouldn't mind it if we still fought prairie fires with buckets and burlap sacks as long as they didn't have to help or pay taxes to support the effort. Having talked with all three commisioners on the phone Saturday night and heard their attitude about the matter, I can't say I am optimistic for a good result, but I feel we must try. It is rather insulting as far as I am concerned, to be on call 24 hours a day 365 days a year for volunteer service, and then have to take an entire morning to go beg for adequate funding for fuel, equipment and repairs. With 10 other department heads intent on chewing them out as well, by the time we speak the situation could well turn into a shouting match, I told the Sheriff I hoped he would not be forced to take me away to jail in handcuffs for disorderly conduct, he said not likely as his budget was cut $125000 and he also is furious. This is democracy in action though, thank goodness we live in a country where we do get a say, even if we often aren't happy with the results.