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Letters to the Editor: Tax Caps Force A Balanced Budget

To the Editor:

Having lived in New York for the first 26 years of my life, and now having left the area, I watch the tax situation there with dismal eyes. It is indeed a sorry situation when tax rates are completely uncapped allowing a carte blanche of spending to spiral out of control.

In Portland, Oregon, my adopted home, we have two measures (now law) that were enacted after California enacted Measure 13. This effectively capped property tax increases to no more than 3% each year, with the exception of bond issues, which must be put to the voters for passage. I can tell you that I can easily calculate my property tax bill for this year, next year and the next 30 years within a degree of accuracy. I can budget accordingly, and during these difficult times, can appropriate funds to other resources with confidence. I do not fear my property/school tax bill because it is neither unexpected, nor more than three percent of my assessed value (that includes school taxes).

You read that correctly -- my total property tax bill is three percent of my assessed value and includes school taxes. As for elected officials, how do they cope with this tawdry amount of money? They are forced to balance a budget and make hard decisions-can we afford to have garbage delivery twice a week? (We don't  -- it is once a week and recycling once a week with yard debris every other week.)  Can we afford new police cars? (No-we repainted the ones we have.)

Amazingly, we Portlanders seem to get along ok. We don't have garbage strewn all over the streets, and our police response time is fast. Our roads are in pretty good shape, and we have city-funded Farmer's Markets at least once a week within a 10-min walk of most of the city. I am dismayed that people would not vote to close the loophole in the recent legislation. As conservative as this measure is, it appreciates wide support in very liberal Portland. Property taxes in Oregon are really-well, a non-issue.

Jeffrey Gosda
Portland, Oregon

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