The article states that the primary reason for entertaining these taxes is due to “declining property-tax revenue caused by falling natural-gas and oil production and property values.”

Regarding oil and gas receipts, there is no explanation of why these revenues have decreased so markedly – particularly in the past two years. One is led to believe from the wording of the article that this is a permanent situation. The same is true of the statements and figures surrounding property-tax revenue decreases.

No mention is made of why these decreases have been experienced, and what the long term trend is likely to be.

I submit that both of these decreases are more likely to be temporary in nature, therefore not requiring drastic measures by the county commissioners for saddling county residents with yet more in unaffordable tax burdens. A tax increase is permanent, while poor economic conditions are cyclic and temporary.

You can bet that in the not too distant future, the oil market is going to recover to the dizzying heights we’ve all become accustomed to, rendering the issue of declining county tax revenues moot.

The same is true of our housing market; indeed, from recent glowing articles published by the Herald, this trend has already begun. Furthermore, just because La Plata County tax rates are lower than rates in other Colorado counties is absolutely no justification for an increase, and the members of the Long Term Finance Committee should be embarrassed for using such a weak argument in favor of raising our taxes.

I want to remind the commissioners that figures are numbers, but people are not. It’s the people who have to pay for these increases.

I am solidly against any tax increases unless more is shown to me not only on the assumptions justifying the needed future revenues, but more importantly what the county can do to cut its expenditures to lessen the burden on each individual taxpayer.

I invite others to join me in opposition.

James Newman

Bayfield