Speak up against higher taxes | News, Sports, Jobs

Larry Bellew, Minot

The city council, school board, park district, and county are once again considering increasing our property taxes, even though they just increased them last year. For example, on a $250,000 home, the taxes will increase about $620 per year or just short of $51 per month.

That equates to a 16% increase over last year. 

Some highlights of concern in the city’s budget are the addition of 23 (that’s right) 23 new employees. The cost of these new employees is $1,810,645 for the first year. Another cost increase in the city’s budget are storm sewer rates and fees. They will increase about 14%.

There are many other parts of their budget that will see double digit increases. In my opinion, there are areas in their budget that can be reduced, so that property taxes can be lowered or at least stay the same as last year. That statement applies to all the local budgets.

Is all government service more essential than the citizens of Minot and Ward County personal sustainability?

Some of our local elected government officials are wealthy enough that these property tax increases will not impact their lifestyle. Another question is, how much do they care about everyone’s else’s lifestyle? For the average homeowner and those on a fixed income, increasing property taxes have a huge impact, possibly driving some people out of their homes, or forcing the hard choices with food, medicine, or taxes. With inflation of around 9% and a probable 16% property tax increase, our lifestyle is being significantly impacted – downward!

It appears, regretfully, but is it true, that most of our elected officials do not care about the majority’s wishes? They will vote for what they want, building empires with ever increasing taxes. The reason for this is because fewer people are supporting democracy today. Apathy is growing, as fewer people vote or get involved in the government process. For example, in the last school bond election, only 4352 people voted, which is less than 10% of the population of Minot. Apathy is resulting in more autocratic leaderships, which is not good for a community representation. So, I am asking the citizens of Minot and Ward County to attend the upcoming budget meetings and let our local elected officials know your opinions.

This will ensure, as Abraham Lincoln said, that government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish.

The dates for the budget meetings are:

City - Sept. 19 at 5:30 pm at the City Hall Council Chambers.

County - Oct. 10 at 7 pm in the County commissioners’ meeting room.

Park District - Sept. 20 at 6:30 pm at the Auditorium Community Room.

School - Sept. 8 at 6 pm at Central Campus High School Auditorium.