County?s magic trick all smoke and mirrors

The magic wand is gone and the last-minute maneuvers used by county commissioners to avoid a property tax increase are being exposed for all their faults. And there are many.
It?s as if the curtain has been pulled back and the Wizard of Oz has been revealed for what he really is: A simple man using a fancy trick to fool the masses.

It?s remarkably similar to the Warren County Commission during its last budget session. Commissioners refused to raise property taxes for the fine people of this community (insert wild applause). Instead of a tax increase, they decided to use capital outlay notes to pay for necessary projects.

The move sparked no anger, no outcry from local residents. That?s because few people know what a capital outlay note really is. Everyone knows what a tax increase is.

Despite its fancy terminology, we should call a capital outlay note by its real name: a loan. All of us understand the concept of a loan. It means the amount the county ultimately pays back will be greater than the amount it borrows. It also means the same project will require more of a tax increase later because we?re now paying interest.

Here?s another little tidbit. Getting approved for a capital outlay note isn?t as easy as getting approved for a library card.

Just like applying for a home loan requires a great deal of paperwork and hassle, applying for a $294,875 capital outlay note is a king-sized headache. And it just so happens $294,875 is the amount of the capital outlay note the county had banked on getting for much-needed industrial park improvements.

And now, as it turns out, the county?s request to issue those capital outlay notes has been denied. And the proposed road to all that available industrial land will have to remain on the county?s wish list.

Yes, that?s the very same industrial park land the county wanted to improve to attract new manufacturing jobs. For local residents who are out of work, they probably don?t want to hear those improvements are now likely on hold until the next budget in August.

The sad fact is our very own county commissioners tried to pull a fast one on the people of Warren County. They wanted to hold their heads high and proclaim how they voted against a tax increase, which they did. Then they turn around and vote in favor of a loan package that created an avalanche of paperwork and red tape ? and increased the local tax burden.

In their haste to avoid those two dreaded words ? tax increase ? commissioners did a disservice to this county.

They obviously realized the county needed extra funding. Why else would they vote in favor of capital outlay notes? For whatever reason, they were scared to vote for a tax increase. Instead, they opted for a smoke-and-mirrors plan that?s more expensive and not completely effective.

We deserve better from our elected officials.