Congratulations citizens. You were heard.
I have been to a lot of public hearings concerning taxing and spending by county and city officials, and while nobody likes to see a tax increase, usually the government body can explain reasons for the tax increase that makes the increase more palatable.
Not in this instance.
Our county commissioners met with a pretty determined public a couple of weeks ago after they proposed what was going to be a 700 percent tax increase for at least some people and businesses in the county. And they did this without being able to tell the public that there were significant reductions in services and employees to go along with the increase.
There was definitely no teaspoon of sugar to help the medicine go down in their presentation and literally they were racked over the coals for the proposed increase.
So, for right now the good news is that they have promised to balance the budget using existing revenues with no tax increase.
But! Hang on!
With any good news dealing with balanced budgets – there will be cuts in services and employees and these cuts always hurt more than seeing your taxes go up.
The question now is whether the same public that demanded a no-tax increase budget for next year can live with the consequences?
The good news – the commissioners said they are prepared to vote no on the proposed tax increase and they will put together a balanced budget based on “they now what their revenues are and they know they can’t live on surpluses.
With that said, the other side of the coin dictates that with fewer revenues, there will be fewer services and fewer employees. These are the hard decisions that have to be made if you live in the balanced budget world with declining revenues.
I can say to the commissioners, welcome to the real world of business! We have been making cuts with employees and services for years as we adjust to lower revenues in these tight economic times. We have learned to become more efficient. We have learned how to do more with less.
Welcome to the world where what ever you do someone is going to squirm and scream. It is a no-win world where some are helped and others are going to be impacted negatively.
I know that we as taxpayers always want lower taxes, but I can guarantee you that we want lower taxes and fewer services only when it impacts the other guy and not me!
So, I propose something to us citizens who were clearly heard protesting higher taxes. Let’s support the commissioners in what they are proposing. I know that they are not going to make the cuts in employees and services exactly the same way we would do it, but in the end we have to applaud that they are trying to do the right thing – balance a diminishing budget with cuts rather than tax increases.
And commissioners – give us a budget where the cuts are meaningful, expenses are reviewed at their core and excesses in spending are identified and cut. Don’t just throw something at us where we are shamed into feeling bad because the cuts are only going to impact the poor, needy, aged or youth.
Make the departments think about other ways of getting things done. Cut the areas that are duplicate services. Get in and identify needs versus wants and I think you will find broad support for these kinds of cuts in services and employees.
This is no easy task and I applaud them for not only trying, but actually having the backbone to propose cuts in government to reflect current economic conditions. And they need our support.
By supporting them I don’t mean that we hold back our suggestions on better ways of implementing cuts. They should always be welcome. But what should not condone are complaints about the cuts without any suggestions on how to make to the needed cuts more palatable.
Folks, this is big a big headline – government officials listening to the people and then acting in such a positive manner. Cuts always hurt, but living outside a balanced budget also hurts in the long run.
Congratulations for making a difference.
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