BY RUSSELL TURNER
PARANOIA AND CASH COWS
I have had some people accuse me of being paranoid; I can only say that I disagree with that statement. I am definitely not paranoid, but it is a simple fact that there is always someone out to get me. Whether we want to admit or not the main entity out to manipulate and control our lives is none other than our government be it state, county or local. I was recently informed about a bill that is making its way through the legislature; those of us who are currently paying taxes are growing tired of the continual efforts of our elected political class to relieve us of more of our hard earned money.
House Bill 1374 would make it possible for cities to increase your property taxes. HB 1374 creates the Oklahoma Public Safety Protection District Act to allow municipalities to create such districts by resolution. The district would be allowed to levy an assessment no greater than five mills on the dollar of assessed value of the types of property in the district with the proceeds to be used for the operation and maintenance of the public safety district, including equipment, salaries and benefits of employees who provide law enforcement or fire protection services.
The measure provides authorization for a municipality to create a Public Safety Protection District upon adoption of a resolution and subsequent approval by voters of the municipality.
Costs of an election for the establishment of a district would be paid by the municipality, including special election costs and necessary notices. Establishment of a district will involve the levy of no more than five (5) mills against taxable property within the district. The actual costs associated with the election and revenue derived from the ad valorem tax levy will depend on the size of the municipality and the tax base upon which the ad valorem levy is accomplished.
Those of us who must work for a living don’t have the time to lobby at the state capital every day to insure that we are not pitched on the altar of big government. Our elected officials are supposed to be watching out for us while they are in office, but I have found that far too many of them are corrupted by the prestige and power of the office they occupy. In the state of Oklahoma the republicans control the House, Senate and the Governor’s office. We are led to believe that elected republicans are conservative and will bring those values to the legislature, sadly that is not always true. There are some very conservative lawmakers in our state capital, but there are many who do not subscribe to those beliefs.
When it boils down to it the voters are the ones to blame. We have been electing individuals who refuse to debate their beliefs on the issues of taxes and spending. They will hire slick marketing companies that tell them to not debate or talk about the pressing issues of the state, they are instructed to only talk in generalities and old worn out clichés. These marketing companies are only motivated by winning at any cost; the whole idea of truth and conservatism is a casualty of political war. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to elect someone who refuses to do the homework and do the heavy lifting to get our state out of the gutter, but for some strange reason that is exactly what we have been doing.
In reality a little bit of paranoia can be a healthy thing, House Bill 1374 is just one of many bills. This bill has passed the House but it can be stopped in the Senate, if you are tired of being a cash cow call your senator and voice your opposition. One last thing to think about, counties and cities across our state have constantly raised sales taxes to the point of rebellion from the taxpayers all in the name of public safety. They know that the sales tax is about maxed out; HB 1374 is just another fund raising ploy.
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