Dickinson's Bryan Personne knows that simply complaining about something doesn't accomplish much. So he's collecting signatures to run for the Stark County Commission to address his concerns about ongoing property tax increases.
"Part of the reason I'm running is because I think I have to. If people don't step forward then we can't continue to complain about it. I've been very vocal about my opposition to the never-ending tax increases," Personne said.
As the chief operating officer for Dickinson's Consolidated, Personne is quite familiar with finances and budgeting.
"I've talked a lot with my family about what this is going to mean," he said of running. "They are supportive of it. But my wife told me if you don't do something, if you don't step forward and try to come up with a solution, who else is going to?"
Personne's family has been here for 10 years after moving from Phoenix. Their first eight years here they lived in Dickinson and the past two they've lived outside the city limits.
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"Every year, (property) taxes are going up an average of $200 to $300 per house. My concern really is I don't think that is sustainable in the future," he said.
The stories he hears about people struggling to make ends meet due to rising property taxes aren't encouraging. He shared the story about an 83-year-old woman who lives in Dickinson.
"She said my taxes have gone up every year and I'm on a fixed income. She said I've reached a point now where I'm not going to be to keep my house. I'm going to have to sell my house and leave," he said. "She said I've lived here my whole life and I don't want that to happen. What can be done?"
Calls like that are what have motivated Personne to seek a county commission seat that's being vacated by Commissioner George Nodland.
"Never in my life have I been interested in serving in public office. I really have never aspired to that," he said. "As I talk with these people the conversation always ends, 'Oh well, what can we do about it?'"
Personne said the answer to that question is people have to start accepting responsibility for who they are voting into office.
"Every person in this county, whether you live inside town or out, every person over 18 is responsible for the current state of affairs," he said. "By that I mean we all vote. If we continue to vote in the same people every election, we're responsible for what we get. We can put different people in those seats if we don't agree with the policies that they are implementing."
The reality for everyone is none of us can afford to have fewer people and businesses in the area.
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"We need everybody we got to stay here and we need them all to invite all of their friends and family to move back to the area," Personne said. "Every person that leaves means there is fewer people to spread that tax burden among."
He would like to see the county budgeting process based upon what the current revenue stream produces.
"You go into a budget knowing what your revenue is going to be, and your costs for the following year are limited by your current revenue streams," he said. "None of us get a check and then go out and spend more than we have in our checking account and then run into work the next day and ask for a raise."
Personne believes a bad pattern exists where just because property values rise, taxes automatically increase.
"Property values could increase every year for eternity, but you can reduce the mill levy every year so it is neutral to the taxpayer," he said. "From my standpoint, you go into the budget where it's going to be neutral to the taxpayer. And then as a last resort, if you have to absolutely raise taxes because you have extraordinary expenses that you can't set aside, then absolutely. As a taxpayer, I'm never going to have an issue with that."
