Does anyone else find it interesting that we saw no relief in our property tax?
Many of us were furloughed for at least a month with minimal or no pay while municipal workers continued to get their full pay and benefits with less work. The schools were closed for months at the end of the last academic year and more this year. That means much more expense for parents to provide distance learning (which is a disservice to our children, by the way), more childcare expenses, etc. We had no Bucking Horse Sale this year, that means one of the biggest revenue sources for some was lost. At the same time, the city didn’t provide ANY services for that event that is normally a big part of our “city specials.”
It seems to me that we should have an appreciable surplus in both the general fund and city specials, as well as the education fund. Where is our relief? Why are our city/county officials not providing that relief? There was ample time to revisit the budget before the 2020 tax statement.
How many of you know just how much of your mortgage payment each month goes to the escrow account to pay your taxes? I think you might be surprised! Take a look. You might find that more goes toward your taxes than your actual house payment!
How are the businesses and homeowners supposed to provide revenue for the city/county when so much of our own revenue was cut? Maybe we need to look a little closer at the actual budget. Maybe there needs to be cuts there. We need to see more of the actual costs of running these departments to see if salaries, especially those of management, might need to be cut. It might be time to look a little closer to see if we are being provided with everything that we are paying for.
More remote learning and partial lockdowns means more expense to homeowners and business owners. We might ask why we pay full salaries to our municipal employees that enforce lockdown rules while we lose our salaries because of them.
Should the taxpayers approve another mill levy anytime soon? I think NOT! Having a yearly budget and staying within that budget is what needs to be done. This year, especially, it might be time to TRIM that budget! We might want to look at what our costs are for maintenance, repairs and salaries! After all, that’s how it works for homeowners and business owners. We adjust our budget when circumstances and income loss require it. Many times, that means we do without and make sacrifices for what is absolutely necessary.
If homeowners and business owners have to take a hit, then our tax burden should reflect the financial reality of this situation.
Editor’s Notes: 1) It only makes sense that cuts are made to city and state workers: we’re always being told “We’re all in this together!” 2) The very timely and well worded article above was sent with a request for anonymity, which will be respected. 3) Finally, everyone in Custer County needs to become more informed and more involved in the operations and costs of our county. That much is abundantly clear.
