Unless of course it gets hard- the new backdoor tax increase

I had the pleasure of listening to Senator Russell Pearce, Senate President Bob Burns, and Speaker Kirk Adams on speak on separate occasions. Many delivered similar addresses sprinkled with their own flavor and talking points. One thing was read from the same script though. When discussing the budget each one said that the "state budget would not be balanced on the back's of the cities and counties."

There must be something in the water at the capital because memories have gotten short. In the proposal that was finally released today (as opposed to last week when it was supposed to be), lawmakers dead set on nothing but cuts have found what they view as the honey pot. $300 Million in special school district accounts and $210 Million that cities have collected from developers.

Here is where I have an issue. I, like many others bought a house in the last few years. I bought it a growing area that was just catching up with the growth. Built in to the price of my house were the costs of city impact fees that would be used to build the roads and fire stations needed for this area. The idea is growth paying for itself.

So being so blinded by the no tax issue, we now have heard ideas of borrowing money (which will require more tax dollars to pay off in the future), selling assets to pay for operations, and taking the money meant to pay for city infrastructure. Um, memo to lawmakers, guess what else is used to pay for infrastructure- bonds. Guess how cities pay for bonds- TAXES and UTILITY FEES. If you take the money paid for by developers, guess who has to make up the difference…THE TAXPAYERS.

Just because you don't vote on them, doesn't mean your hands are clean.

PS- I'd put money on the fact that the Governor would veto a budget with these gimmicks included. They do nothing to fix the long term problem we're facing.

The Joint Draft Budget Proposal is Here.

Tribune Article Here.