Letter: Santa delivers increase in property taxes

I got my Christmas envelope from the county auditor last Saturday. I rushed to open it like it was a response from Santa himself. Needless to say all that fell out was a piece of coal with no assurance or even a hint of things being better next year.

Now, I’m not taking out my wrath on the county auditor as she is just the messenger — the bearer of bad tidings, so to speak, of the dreaded property tax statements.

For the amount of money they want, I’m surprised there wasn’t “postage due” on the envelope. I analyzed the statement to see if our state officials were giving us the straight skivvy on all this reported property tax relief. This is what I found on my property:

Total dollar tax increase: $453.

- County - from 2011 to 2012 - increase of property tax - 19.1 percent

- City - from 2011 to 2012 - increase of property tax - 10.3 percent

- School - from 2011 to 2012 - increase of property tax - 18.1 percent

- Park - from 2011 to 2012 - increase of property tax - 10.1 percent

- Water - from 2011 to 2012 - increase of property tax - 21.1 percent

- State - from 2011 to 2012 - increase of property tax - 21.1 percent

I don’t know about you but I don’t think I can stand much more “local control” or state implemented property tax relief.

I’d like to talk to some of those 74 percent of the voters who voted down Measure 2 last June. Either they know something I don’t know or North Dakota got a bad batch of marijuana cookies that the State Chamber of Commerce sent out.

The assistant superintendent of the school district reported in the newspaper that “he was reducing property tax.” Of course I never did understand modern math. You know, where the taxes are going up, they are really going down.

All I can say is beware of governors and legislators bearing gifts called property tax relief. Also county commissioners, city commissioners, park board members, etc. have a reduced conscience and little inhibitions when it comes to public money disappearing like reindeer off the roof.

Leon L. Mallberg, Dickinson

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