Letters to the editor: Commissioner raises, task force, property taxes, dams
Commissioner raises
I read with dismay that our Ada County commissioners want to raise their salaries (Idaho Statesman, 6/27/2021). The commissioners are currently making $117,556 annually, but want to vote in a pay raise of $122,000. This is more than double the median household income for Idaho. And that is not all. Commissioners apparently don’t even work full-time. They like to take off on Fridays for 3 day weekends. And it gets worse: one commissioner, Ryan Davidson, wants to raise commissioners salaries even higher, to $127,000 annually.
Gosh, sign me up; I sure want to work a four-day work week for $117,556 a year and then vote in a nice pay raise for myself. I bet they get full benefits, too. Talk about bellying up to the public trough.
Meg Fereday, Boise
Students’ voices
It was a pleasure to read the reactions of Idaho students to the Education Indoctrination Task Force (Becca Savransky, 6-24-21, Idaho Statesman). Students and educators, the ones most affected by the outcome of these deliberations, deserve a strong voice in the process. The students apparently have none, and educators, little if any. The Task Force is chaired by two “bulwarks” of Idaho education, Janice McGeachin and Priscilla Giddings. McGeachin’s counsel is Donald Trump, another expert on Idaho’s schools. The charge of this committee remains unclear, but it has something to do with indoctrination by a critical race theory, a concept which is undefined by the committee. However, whatever it is, it is propagated by educators who are influenced by communists and Nazis, or heaven forbid, liberals or socialists. To subject Idaho’s educational institutions to further harassment, following a distasteful legislative display of ineptness, is absolute folly. Congratulations to the students, who refuse to tolerate such nonsense. Idaho voters should do the same, in the forthcoming elections.
Thomas G. Hallam, Sr., Garden City
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Property taxes
During a brief encounter recently with the local TV station, the Ada County Clerk mentioned some stretches of information.
The clerk stated that the state Legislature did not do much for property tax relief in the 2021 session (blaming them for the higher property taxes imposed by the various taxing authorities) and that the Ada County commissioners are wanting to reduce property taxes a smidgen.
Each taxing authority, be it cities, counties and/or special districts sets the amount of property taxes receivables they want for their budgets. Meaning, these taxing authorities do not have to take the “max” amount each year. They have flexibility and they determine the amount of property tax to be collected.
Two of the Ada County commissioners are up for election in 2022, So when they say they want to reduce property tax, this is pure political theater for their re-election. Ada County through the years, could have and should have reduced property taxes — each year. They didn’t. In fact, they have even gone back to previous tax years to invoke additional taxes. Property tax should be no more than the yearly inflation rate. Reaping the cash cow at taxpayers’ expense is just ethically wrong!
Galen Kidd, Boise
Restore Snake River
“The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.” - Psalm 8:8. In my family, we believe that God created everything that is beautiful about the world. He put water in the rivers and oceans and He planted the forests that line their banks. He created the orcas to swim in the oceans and the eagles to fly in the sky. And then He created the salmon to connect all of these things. They swam in the waters. They fed the orcas and the eagles. And their carcasses fertilized the forests. God created the people, too, but we forsake him, killing his creations. Why did we build the four Lower Snake River dams? Why are we so resistant to removing them when they can be replaced with cheaper energy and transportation. I am going into my sophomore year at Capital High School, and I’m a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the Riverglen Ward. I’m calling on Sen. Mike Crapo to engage with U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson on the Columbia Basin Initiative. It’s time to restore the Snake River to how God created it.
Molly Richins, Garden City
