Editor,

I don’t know if it’s ignorance on the part of the bureaucrats and politicians involved or just plain self-serving dishonesty, but they never seem to acknowledge that a fee-based on a percentage is self correcting over time for both inflation and growth.

The present request for an increase to our property tax, justified “because it’s been so long since we raised the fee” completely ignores this fact.

Over that time, inflation has increased the auditors valuation of our properties by many thousands of dollars, and the increase in the size of our local economy has again added to that increase in assessed valuation upon which we pay the fee.

Yes, it’s the same percentage over all that time, but in dollars paid, it is far more than it was when the fee was enacted to pay for the services rendered, and the growth in service needed has been matched by that growth in the number of payees providing those dollars paid in on ever-escalating property values.

Responsible management of our money paid in is what seems to be missing here.

Reg White

Oak Harbor