Not caring about taxes just doesn’t seem right
It may be remembered as the referendum no one cared anything about — and that’s if anyone remembers it at all.
Yesterday’s local option sales tax referendum came and went with hardly a fuss. There were no heated letters to the editor. There was barely any talk of the sales tax referendum at all.
When Standard reporters asked city residents about the referendum yesterday, the most popular response was, “Is that today?”
Despite frequent stories in this newspaper, and regular mention of the referendum on local radio stations, still no one cared. And, of all things, no one cared about an issue involving taxes. It’s hard to fathom.
“People have the right to vote and they have the right not to vote,” said Election Administrator Donna Yates. “If they want to sit back and allow 18 percent to decide for 100 percent of the people, then that’s their priority.”
That’s certainly true, but when taxes are involved, people are supposed to be fervent. They are supposed to fight, claw and scratch for every tax dollar they can muster.
While the fact few people voted is disappointing from a democracy standpoint, it’s also disappointing from a taxpayer standpoint. Yates estimated yesterday that the referendum will ultimately cost between $12,000 and $14,000. If you take Yates’ low-ball estimate of $12,000 and divide that by the 1,214 people who actually voted, the cost comes to $9.88 per vote.
While the overall turnout is disappointing, the referendum is nothing less than an overwhelming victory for city property owners who will soon see a decrease in their taxes. And, truth be told, if only educated voters went to the polls, the one-sided margin is understandable.
That’s because city property owners would be foolish to vote against a measure which would lower their taxes. The difference will be made up by non-city residents who shop at stores in McMinnville city limits. Those non-city residents will soon be paying more sales tax and, in essence, they will be paying some of the property taxes city residents used to pay.
If city residents like the idea of someone else paying their property tax (which is an idea most people should favor), then it’s easy to see how there was a final margin of 84 percent to 16 percent.
Maybe it was only well-informed voters who went to the polls. Or maybe the local option sales tax was an issue few people cared anything about.
But not caring about taxes is something which just doesn’t seem right.