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Show Page The Ogden Valley news Volume XIV Issue XV October 15, 007 The Ogden Valley news Staff: Shanna Francis Tel: 745- 688 Fax: 745-006 Cell: 791-4387 E-Mail: slfrancis@att.net Jeannie Wendell Tel: 745- 879 Fax: 745- 879 E-Mail: crwendell@att.net crwendell@msn.com Opinions expressed by advertisers, columnists or letters to the editor are not necessarily the opinions of the owners and staff of The Ogden Valley news. guidelines for Letters to the Editor Letters should be 300 words or less. Letters must be signed and the address of the writer submitted. The Ogden Valley news reserves the right to edit or decline printing of any submissions. Announcements Sought As a community service, The Ogden V alley n ews will print local birth, wedding, obituary, anniversary and missionary farewell & homecoming and Eagle Scout announcements free of charge. 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All material, to be considered, must be submitted with the full name, address and telephone number of the person submitting the material. The OgdenValley news’liability on account of errors in, or omissions of, advertising shall in no event exceed the amount of charges for the advertising omitted or the space occupied by the error. The Ogden Valley news does not endorse, promote or encourage the purchase or sale of any product or service advertised in this newspaper. Advertisements are the sole responsibility of the advertiser. The Ogden Valley news hereby disclaims all liability for any damage suffered as the result of any advertisement in this newspaper. The Ogden Valley news is not responsible for any claims or representations made in advertisements in this newspaper. The Ogden Valley news has the sole authority to edit and locate any classified advertisement as deemed appropriate. It also reserves the right to refuse any advertising. Note: The contents of The Ogden Valley News are copyrighted. To protect this publication and its contributors from unlawful copying, written permission is required before any individual or company engages in the reproduction or distribution of its contents, by any means, without first obtaining written permission from the owners of this publication. The deadline for the OVN November 1 issue is October 15. Letters to the Editor Exorbitant Taxes Call for Civil Action—Where are Thoreau’s men of conscience? In a place where Weber County upper Valley property taxes have increased over 540% in three years (mine), where a 20year newer house down the street that has four times the bathrooms and bedrooms appraises at half my rate; where my property taxes go to a luxurious, mall-atmosphere junior high school where I have never attended nor have had any relatives (nor will have) attend, to a cemetery I will never use, to a translator station that does me absolutely no good, to parks I don’t visit, and to an animal control agency that never catches a dog and spends afternoons parked on a Pineview Reservoir overlook, something’s go to blow! Apparently, Henry David Thoreau was right . . . voting, petitioning, “town” meetings, and now “blogging,” are all a kind of game playing like backgammon. It gives the illusion that people are “doing,” allowing them to blow off steam when, in fact, they are only posturing. Again paraphrasing Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience,” men of conscience must act, not just rattle sabers, give speeches, and vote. Voting is even less effective in a state where the minority party by voting is simply registering not even a voice, but a whimper in the wilderness. Some Valley residents are angry. A Valley poll indicates 45% of them will refuse to pay property taxes if the others refuse. Whether they will, in fact, refuse to pay is another question; historically, Americans talk more than they act, and this has been doubly true for Valley residents. Politicians, including those that raise taxes, rely on this complacence. D. Bell from Huntsville has engaged a lawyer to explore possibilities of a class-action suit over property tax evaluations. Others have engaged their own lawyers. Whether anything comes of these actions remains to be seen. To effect change, we must do—not just posture. We must get thousands willing to be arrested and block access to the state Capitol; we must in mass refuse to pay any property taxes; we must clog the machinery of government that sets unequal and exorbitant property taxes to pay for their own profligacy. King Jr. and Gandhi, both disciples of Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience,” by the way, did not achieve what they did by voting and petitioning; they marched, boycotted, blocked access, got arrested, and died. Overly dramatic for taxes? Scores of government leaders—autocratic and democratic alike—have been thrown out over tax protests. It can be done, but where are Thoreau’s “men of conscience?” To help, contact kdbell266@yahoo.com or <gkbell@xmission.com> Walt Prothero, Eden Community Support Needed to Generate Change to Property Tax Law During the August 15 tax revolt meeting (a.k.a. “Ogden Valley Tea Party”) at Snowcrest, we witnessed an angry and incensed crowd—a crowd that was willing to do whatever it took to get their taxes fixed. Two short months have passed and it appears that apathy may be setting in. Hopefully we bombarded the assessor’s office with appeals, as that seems to be the only short term, albeit temporary, fix. What started as a Huntsville issue, quickly spread through the Valley and has grown wings statewide. Counties claim they are following state law, and the lawmakers say that if counties don’t resolve the problem, then they will take care of it. An endless circle that will not break if we don’t take—or force—action. Having recently sat through two special meetings of the legislature on the subject, a recurring theme has been mentioned while seeking solutions: “The system is not broken.” To the contrary, the system is totally and completely broken! Why else would two special meetings be held over a three-week period if the system were not broken? Utah is one of only six “non-disclosure” states, which means that real estate sales do not have to be disclosed. Our Fair Market Value system of taxation requires assessors to establish a value for our properties, but the assessors do not have adequate and complete data of past sales. Furthermore, each county is forced to develop technol- ogy to mass assess our properties. This ward, but you must become involved too. technology development is costing taxpay- Since 2008 is an election year and many ers millions, and we all know the result is legislators want to retain their jobs, the fraught with errors. January session of the Utah Legislature is The other recurring theme is, “We don’t our target. The legislators and governor want Proposition 13,” to which I may agree. know who we are, and they know we are California’s Prop. 13 was instituted nearly coming. thirty years ago. Since then, more than 35 states have instituted some derivLETTERS TO THE EDITOR cont. on page 17 ative of an Acquisition Value based tax system. Many states have improved upon California’s pioneering, and Utah can do the same. It will not be easy, however, as there is widespread opposition from both legislators and powerful lobbyists. Extreme opposition may require extreme counter measures. We may have to rally on the steps of the State Capital or march up State Street holding our “For Sale - Can’t Afford The Taxes Signs.” Salt Lake is cold in January, but we will likely have to hold our lawmakers’ feet to the fire. A similar campaign was successful in Indiana, and the “For Sale - Can’t Afford The Taxes” signs are an obvious political statement, so don’t be afraid to put your house on our tax reform market. The momentum of the media is on our side as we move for- |