Editor:
The SCRD wants to say they are working on a budget - they are not. What the SCRD is working on is a wish list. Various departments submit their wish list to the SCRD and the directors peel a little off and then come up with a dollar amount that always involves an increase in taxes. To call this method of financial mismanagement “budgeting” is a joke and says much about how disconnected these directors have become from their mandate. The amount of money needed to operate should be what was raised in the previous year. The maximum increase to this amount should be zero to the recognized inflation rate on any given year. That is it. (Increased or decreased tax base factored in.)
No sensible money wise person budgets as the SCRD does. Citizens figure out what they can afford based on income and finances available to them in a given year and budget accordingly. You create your budget based on the finances you have available.
The SCRD has lost touch with the fact that they work for us, we do not work for them. These increases in taxes above the inflation rate have to stop. The SCRD has a job to do, working within a budget is part of it, taxing to infinity and beyond is not part of the job description.
B. Mitchell