The Blob that ate your democracy
Government is a lot like The Blob: It grows and consumes and reacts poorly to outside stimuli.
Madison County’s powers-that-be worked really hard to kill an effort to ask voters whether they want to peel back the property tax rate by a nickel. If only they had figured out a way to disqualify another 278 of the 9,985 petition signatures, they would have succeeded.
Now, unless a retired Alton cop decides to appeal the review of the petition signatures, Madison County voters on Nov. 8 will decide whether county government can operate with 20 cents in property tax for every $100 of assessed valuation or whether they should keep the ability to charge up to a quarter.
For the owner of a $100,000 house, that translates to a potential savings of $15.66 if the county ever went wild and levied for the whole quarter they are allowed to tax. In reality, that homeowner’s property taxes will only drop about $6.25 because the county’s tax rate has only been 22 cents per $100 assessed. The homeowner last year paid $69 to run county government.
Still, the point is that Madison County has been well into the black, taxing more than it needs and banking the surplus. Yes, a surplus. Taxpayers have a chance to say, “Enough.”
Blobs don’t like to shrink or give up control. A lot of the mistrust toward government is because its leaders claim they can’t give up a nickel, that a 1 percent sales tax has other uses within your schools than providing property tax relief or that only politicians can draw state legislative district boundaries. “Trust us. We’re the government.”
County leaders have already predicted doom and gloom, saying fewer deputies would be on patrol and all but predicting criminals would run free. They will continue making their case that the machinery of county government will seize without extra taxes to lubricate it. Again, they have a surplus.
That’s democracy. They will make their case — including why they need a surplus — the tax limit folks will make theirs and you decide in November.
Isn’t it nice to have a choice, though? Let’s hope voters go to the polls and don’t squander this opportunity.
This story was originally published July 9, 2016 at 7:00 PM with the headline "The Blob that ate your democracy."