I see that Paul Chalmers is still defending the 14 cents per thousand dollars of assessed value used by the city as propaganda to pass the fire bond.
The tax year runs from July 1 to June 30. I will use my property tax bills to show why he is wrong.
2015-16, two bond issue payments with a total of $39.05. Total property taxes: $1,602.92. 2016-17, no city or county bond payments. Total property taxes: $1,602.38.
I saved a whole 54 cents with both bond issues paid off.
You may wonder, why only 54 cents savings with two bonds paid off? Tax districts can increase your assessed value every year by at least 3 percent. Very hard for your property taxes to go down.
No city or county bond payments on this year’s taxes. Your property taxes will go up around 62 cents per thousand dollars of assessed value. The 14 cents is a fantasy.
The funny part of this election is that the city did not have to hoodwink the taxpayers because the bond would have passed anyway. There was no organized opposition to the bond and the Public Safety committee had lots of dollars to spend.
Politicians love property taxes because they are hard to understand. A lot of us pay our property taxes separate from our house payment. Many residents now include taxes with their house payment. When their house payment goes up this fall they can thank the Fire Bond.
Rex J. Morehouse
Pendleton, Ore.
Letters are the opinion of their respective authors and not of the Pendletonian Times