Kevin Standlee (kevin_standlee) wrote,
Kevin Standlee
kevin_standlee

Unclear on the Concept

I finished filling out my absentee ballot today and will mail it tomorrow. (I will be in the air flying back from the UK on the last leg of my Eurocon trip on November 8, and I usually vote by absentee ballot anyway.) One of the local issues about which I care a lot is an increase in the property tax to fund the North Lyon County Fire Protection District. The measure includes an example that will let you figure out how much it would impact you if you own property: a home with a fair market value of $100,000 will see an increase of $17.40/year.

So one of the arguments against the proposal reads:

Not all homes have a fair market value of $100,000 so many people will end up paying more. There should be a more fair system so everyone pays the same amount.

I groan at the cluelessness of this argument. First, the example makes it easy to calculate your own personal impact by using the statement that the county sends out annually telling you what your home's value is. Second, if your home is worth more, you have more to protect, so it makes sense to me that you should pay more, just like your home insurance costs more if you have a more valuable house.

Even this small increase will probably be difficult to pass, because there are so many people in the "No taxes, ever, ever, no way, no how, never" crowd who probably think that if their house catches fire they can put it out with a garden hose and a bucket brigade of their neighbors.
Tags: fernley, politics
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