Letters

Best possible service

Whitman County is asking voters to approve a levy lid lift of $0.22 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation at the February 11 election.

The County is authorized to levy $1.80 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, but this amount has deteriorated down to $1.38 per $1,000 of assessed valuation and potentially will decline down to $1.27 per $1,000 of assessed valuation in 2015.

The levy lift being voted on would restore the County levy to $1.60 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.

This would amount to an increase in property taxes of $33 per year on a home valued at $150,000.

The Elected Officials and Department heads would like to explain why the County is experiencing financial difficulties and what the levy lift passage or failure means to the operational future of Whitman County.

Whitman County did not get to this point over night.

Just as the citizens of the county have been affected by the recession that began in 2008, so have Washington State and Whitman County.

Counties are limited in the ways they can be funded.

The primary means of revenue for the County are Property Taxes, Sales Tax, Grants, and until recently, interest income.

Property Tax increases are restricted to 1% per year by law, however, our costs to provide County services have increased by 2% to 4% per year.

In the five years prior to the recession that began in the fall of 2008, the County received $4,189,897 in interest revenue, while in the last five years ending in 2013 the County received just $757,850 in interest revenue.

This is a decrease of $3,432,047.

In addition, the State year after year, especially since 2008, has been reducing the amount of revenue provided to Counties.

They have stretched out the period of time in which they distribute funds, reduced numerous grants that counties have relied on, and passed on unfunded mandates, taken over funding formerly provided to counties, all while relying on the Counties to act as their agents.

We assess all county property for them, collect their property taxes, process and record property sales and transfers, provide law enforcement, operate courts and jails, provide vehicle licensing, provide for legal filing, and provide for public health, just to name a few.

These are services we provide to the taxpayers and citizens of the County as the agent of the State.

In addition to these basic services, the County also provides services that add to the quality of life for residents.

Elected Officials and Department Heads have been good stewards of the resources provided to us; there is no fluff in our budgets.

You have read of the Initial budget request submitted to the Commissioners this fall for the 2014 budget, needing to be cut $1.3 million in order to balance.

Even at that, the County Budget had to be balanced with one time money from reserves.

Those moneys are no longer available for balancing in the future; in fact the Commissioner’s County Administrator anticipates a $500,000 shortfall for the 2015 budget.

This levy lid lift the voters are being asked to approve February 11th amounts to a total increase of $745,000 in 2015 and would allow the County Departments to continue to provide a level of service taxpayers have come to expect as well as providing for desperately needed repairs and long term maintenance of facilities that have been postponed due to lack of funding.

Without the levy restoration, there will surely be employee layoffs, reduced hours of operation, and failures of critical infrastructure systems.

Even for 2014 there have been positions not filled and a Sheriff Deputy laid off.

We Elected Officials and Department heads are responsible to provide the best possible service for the citizens of Whitman County. Voting to restore the Levy lid lift by $0.22 per $1,000 of assessed valuation will go a long way in allowing us to continue to do that.

Mark Storey

Janet Schmidt

Troy Henderson

Gary Petrovich

Pete Martin

Eunice Coker

Joe Reynolds

Bob Lothspeich

Bill Tensfeld

Tim Myers

Brett Myers

Denis Tracy

Shirley Bafus

Elected Officials and Department Heads

Our intent

There is a library maintenance and operation levy restoration election for the Whitman County Library on the Feb. 11 ballot. I encourage you to vote in support of your library!

We have an excellent library system in Whitman County with 14 library locations. The staff is courteous, hardworking and well trained to help all who use the library system. It is our intent to maintain the current programs, hours, technology, collections and staffing levels in all branches.

The library trustees take pride in being prudent managers of your tax dollars. We will use this revenue to maintain and operate the Whitman County Library System.

Please vote in the upcoming election. If you have questions or concerns, give me a call.

Bob Bates, Colton

Whitman Library Board chairman

Sorta

“Fagan vows to take on public safety in legislature.” Well, sorta. (Gazette Jan. 9, 2014).

I wish she would. Alcohol is the number-one drug related to crimes of violence. Any merchant will tell you that sales of a product will increase, as you extend its availability and advertise it.

I wish she would get on board with safety, and work to restrict the availability of that drug. And restrict the advertising? Please.

Wiley Hollingsworth,

Pullman

Driving Attitudes

A recent (12/12/13) article in the Whitman County Gazette regarding drowsy driving has prompted me to add some comments of my own. Trooper Blood had several comments that I agree with and would like to expand upon.

My comments are meant to emphasize ways that may help prevent drowsy driving.

Our modern cars have all kinds of devices and electronic gizmos that actually tend to make drivers less diligent at the wheel. Cruse control (I love it!) was one of the first that I believe actually lets us pay less attention to our driving. Don’t believe it? Try doing without it for a day or two, and I think you’ll find yourself paying more attention!

There are many causes of drowsy driving, a lack of sleep being the most obvious.

Boredom is a factor, of course.

If you find yourself being bored by driving, you’re obviously not realizing how dangerous it is.

Try thinking about how close to death or serious injury you are when you meet an oncoming car at 60 mph - maybe a matter of inches! Many drivers become drowsy because they are not accustomed to driving long distances.

I suggest if you are planning a trip (maybe traveling on the weekend for a Coug game) schedule around your usual sleeping and eating habits.

If you are not used to driving at night, rent a Hummer-limo and go in the daytime! I like to be comfortable when I drive, but don’t get too comfortable.

Trooper Blood mentioned a few good suggestions which may help wake you up. Soft drinks and coffee may help. Run the windows down and the radio up may help, also. When you nod it means your brain is falling asleep. If you nod, the most important thing I can suggest - GET OFF THE ROAD NOW! At the first nod you may have enough awareness to realize you’re in trouble. After that…. You may not.

When I say, “Get off the road”, I don’t mean the shoulder. You should find a good, safe place to get completely off the road, maybe a rest area or fuel stop. The drinks, music, windows down, even a walk around are of questionable value and definitely temporary. Use restroom facilities to wash you face and hands. Don’t just walk around your car; clean all the windows, inside and out.

However, here is no substitute for good sound sleep!

You may ask, “What does he know?” Well, I’ll tell you. I don’t mention statistics or things that I’ve read or heard. I’ve got, “been there- done that”.

To be candid, I’m going to mention two experiences I had back in the 1970’s.

One morning I woke up in my sleeper. I didn’t remember stopping. Didn’t know what I was hauling or where I was going. I had to check my bill of lading to jog my memory. Another night I drove about twenty miles believing that every weed or bush in the ditch was a deer! In both examples, would you even guess that I was thinking clearly or driving safely? No! I was sleep deprived. No drugs or alcohol were involved - I was forty years stupider. A driver friend of mine actually saw the, “Famous Pink Elephant Herd of South Dakota”! We are both still driving, but not doing stupid stuff for many years now. I guess you could say we’ve been, “Scared Smart”.

I would like to make it clear that this is strictly my opinion based on my experiences and observances. I welcome any intelligent discussion, agree or disagree, on any topic concerning driving.

Jerry Martin, LaCrosse

Only source

In 2007 Malden’s library consisted of a librarian from another community bringing a couple of boxes of books and movies to the basement of a former church one afternoon a week. Thanks to a USDA grant to WOW Internet to bring high speed internet to Malden and their cooperation with the Whitman County Library and to town volunteers who helped set up the new addition to town hall.

Because the grant included wages for a person to man the computer center six days a week, Malden enjoyed two years of access to computers, wifi, books and movies. When the grant ran out, we were back to the library being open one afternoon a week. We are trying to find a way to have our library open another afternoon a week.

Having been involved in the volunteer efforts to maintain our library, we feel that no one works harder for their wages than the librarians working for Whitman County Library. In our town there is no other source of books, computers, wifi, movies and crafts other than what parents can provide at home. We encourage voters to pass the library levy February 11th.

Ted and Fran Maxwell,

Malden

Community pride

We always enjoy attending Colfax School events. The quality of our band, choir, theater productions, sports and other school events is always outstanding. It’s fun to visit and catch up with friends and community members at these well attended events. Our student athletes over the years have taken many state championships in a variety of sports, and often win the academic award. Many other extracurricular activities such as Future Problem Solvers, FFA, FCCLA and Jazz Band regularly garner state awards as well. It’s a source of our community pride.

Both of our children participated in extracurricular activities such as FFA, FCCLA, jazz band, and various sports activities in their 12 1/2years in Colfax schools. The education they received including the extracurricular activities allowed them to successfully pursue post secondary educations.

The maintenance and operations levy supports all extracurricular activities and much of the facilities and grounds maintenance, transportation, necessary staff and support personnel, even textbooks and technology equipment. The School District is asking for $0.32 less per $1000 of assessed value in this maintenance and operations levy than residents are currently paying.

We encourage residents of the Colfax school district to take the initiative to vote for the replacement maintenance and operations levy. It is critical so that current and future students can continue to have the opportunity for a quality well rounded education experience, right here in Colfax.

Tim and Jennie Myers,

Colfax

It is time

I urge you to vote ‘yes’ on allowing the county property tax to increase.

We (you, me, and all the voters of this state) changed the property tax system in 2007, when 1-747 passed. That change capped the amount that property tax could increase - at 1percent — regardless of any rate of inflation or anything else, unless the people vote to allow an increase greater than the 1 percent limit.

This forces a community conversation about adjusting that limit (through a vote of the people) — or reducing the level of service. This isn’t easy, but it is democracy. And frankly, it ought to be hard to raise taxes in our democracy. That forces public servants to struggle to make certain that we use scarce resources as effectively as we can. Are we doing a good job at it?

Since 2007, the cost of county government has gone up more than 1 percent a year, but the county hasn’t asked to raise the property tax until now. Instead, county government has cut positions and services, cutting the workforce by about 10 percent. This is reflected in my office specifically (the County Prosecutor’s Office) where I have lost a staff position (which in my small office is a 10 percent reduction). I’ve also pursued cost-saving ways to be “smart” on crime, as well as being “tough” on crime, including a diversion program for first-time offenders and a drug court.

But further cuts to my office, or the Sheriff’s office, could result in drastic changes to the criminal justice system in this county. From a law and order perspective, it is time to allow a small increase in the property tax.

Let’s discuss it. I think you’ll agree that it’s time to vote ‘yes.’

Denis Tracy,

Whitman County Prosecutor