Pueblog USa
Monday, May 21, 2007
We’re ‘In’ the Money (Part 5)
Comments from another Proud Pueblo Taxpayer
Not myself….
I often work in large medical buildings here in Pueblo and I always notice that the air conditioning is a day behind the temperatures. If we get a cool snap the air conditioners are still going and when it warms up suddenly you will cook for a day, especially in the upper floors. So it is with our property taxes. They are always behind the times, set for yesterday.
I was severely disappointed by Mr. Beltran’s bureaucratic and personally negative response to Mr. McCarthy’s editorial about the inaccuracy of property taxes. He completely misses the point. The point is that property taxes are rising as property values are falling, not to mention a potentially stagnating economy. Cannot Mr. Beltran step outside his narrow government focus to consider superior alternatives? He should render a dispassionate expert opinion on other options and perhaps be familiar with other systems around the country. I think the answer is contained in his sarcastic response, “I guess we would all have to read those states’ statutes to see how they’re supposed to value property.” In medicine we are always looking around to see what advances are occurring anywhere in the world to bring better care right here to Pueblo. I guess assessors don’t care to do that.
Mr. McCarthy offers alternatives which are used successfully and I cannot find one expert opinion by Mr. Beltran on any of these, including in his interview with Margie Wood in the 5/15 Chieftain. He simply defends the status quo and essentially says “That’s all I have to do.”, and goes on to demean his critic. This is a classic bureaucrat. They do not think outside the box, learn new things or give any advice on improvements. They execute policy and head for the door at 4:59pm each day.
Mr. McCarthy may be off on his assessment mathematics but he is dead right on his critique of the problem and the search for a better system. In that sense he does represent all of us who pay ever increasing taxes.