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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
November 24, 2011     Shelton Mason County Journal
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November 24, 2011
 
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In I I Good Government 101 Anyone with an interest   : ?:: in efficient, transparent and fair government ser- vices should be alarmed by   this week's lead story on property tax appeals. When most people .hear th iw ::th foiP{ eigh:! ::::::: : : : : :: : : the words "board of equal-   ar:: i::6{ tO:e:iI::li6:: :: ization," they instinctively, and understandably, reach for the snooze button. But, here in Mason County, a lot of folks with :i h he  ::::  { skin in the, game, some 400 in 2010 alone, know b e tt e r. : : ii :: e; de:::: i: ': Mason County property owners, especially in the e::   refi( f: :fl{io::: [::N last couple of years, have ::: : i:  :{:  i :: : :i ' :;:  been grumbling about un-   : lek::i re::  ::: f  :.: fair assessments. Now, it : i:: r0ifig ::  i :[ :fl:i ::::i :::: turns out, that the very board that is supposed to listen to and evaluate d ie!  iii :{RC :8iii ::: :,::: : those grumblings, to deter-!{C56) mine what level of validity   i rei  i :ii: ii::::: there is to them, is out of step with the law in eight ii   i  eVider, : tt areas and has lots of room  ) : tbr improvement in five  :Bd qud ntii f0:r others. i  !  One of the biggest complaints over property tax assessments in re- ty {l{atve thrity{ { onine : : cent years has been that similar homes in nearby {06{ : :: :: :: : :: : counties, sometimes liter- ally just a few feet away, don't get dinged nearly as badly when the tax bill comes due. We've now learned, of course, that the t:eason for that is be- cause the board of equal- ization, contrary to state law, doesn't even consider that crucial and relevant in/brmation, instead, that evidence is dismissed oat of hand at hearings. Another shocking rev- elation t?om the state's au- dit of the board is the fact that the county, which has been tbrced into six-figure settlements in recent years over Public Records Act violations, still hasn't learned the unportance of maintaining paper work. State auditors found that. once again contrary to state law. a proper record of the board's proceedings wasn't maintained or pub- lished. In light of the audit, we're not ready to con- demn the assessor's office fbr incompetence. Their numbers may, in fact. be way off base and. if that s the case, so be it. That's what the board of equal- ization is supposed to be there for! It is the board's job to fairly evaluate ap- peals, but this board, it is clear, can't possibly do that. Simi- larly, the volunteer citizen members of the board should be spared most of the blame as well. Those volunteers are ap- pointed by the county commis- sioners and rely on public works project that is well over budget in Bel- fair, in charge of oversee- ing the board of equaliza- tion. The buck stops with the county commis- "it is the board's job to fairiy evaluate appea00s00, but this board, it is dear, can't possibly do that°" CORRECTIONS the county commissioners and the commissioners' clerk for guidance. In ad- dition, the commissioners have inexplicably placed their director of utilities and waste management, who is in the midst of overseeing a massive sioners. Unfortu- nately, in this case, too many Mason County property owners have already paid the bill. Fix- ing this mess should now be the county commissioners' highest priority. Replacing all or some of the volunteer members on the board of equalization and training county staff on the basics of the law would be a good place to start. What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving? Jennifer Jay "That I have a job and a great family." Jim Snyder "I'm thankful for God, I'm thankful for my family, I'm thankful for good health and I'm thankful for friends." Matthew Fagen "I just moved here from Texas and I'm thanMhl fbr my family and that we made it here with no hitches. It's a long way." Nolan Roach "That I'm alive. I'm 83, I beat colon can- cer in eight surgeries and World War II and I'll be publishing a book titled 'Short Stories and Poems to Tickle Your Funny Bone.' and 80 percent of the profits will go to food banks." In the Nov. 17 issue of the Shelton Jour- nal. the photo accompanying the story "Rain washes away Shelton Occupiers." is Karen Sandberg, not Anne Flynn. The cover story "Veterans club col- ebrates 90" years from the Thursday, Nov. 17. issue, stated that Harvey Far- rimond finished his career in the mili- tary as a First Lieutennant. In fact. he finished as a Captain. Also. Farrimond went through Officer Candidate School (OCS  while in the National Guard. not after. The Jou00al 00el¢om es a n d: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: letters to the editor.: 13r:in00 si00ned, o!igi00al o f local i:nt ere:st.: :We: wi:ll::not p u bl:ish ::'liet0000rs00: 00th:at! fort:he Journal, False alarm at Fire District 5 Editor, the Journal Recently voters over- whelming rejected Fire Dis- trict 5's $4.4 million dollar bond/tax increase proposal. This prudent rejection rein- forces my confidence in our ballot system. Here are some facts. which may have been overlooked by some of our voters. This bond was pro- posed to replace almost all of the existing vehicles within the district, includ- ing three new Ford Escape SUV's at $35 each and two new Ford Expeditions at $45,000 each. designated for the chief and his sub- chiefs use. Top of the line vehicles. with top of the line costs at a time when many in our community are unem- ployed, on food stamps and exhausting the resources of our food banks. It is amaz- ing to me how out of step the leaders of FD-5 are with the economics of our area and the critical needs of our community. In hand outs presented to the community by FD 5, one of the selling points presented by the district for spending $4.4 million dollars now. rather than later, was that they could get some real bargains on equipment because "fire equipment suppliers are struggling ..." Kind of like telling a struggling fam- ily that now is the time to buy a new Cadillac because prices are at rock bottom levels and General Motors needs the money. Let's hope that in the fu- ture. FD 5 leaders use better judgment when proposing ways of spending our money and don't give us more false alarms on the ballot. Bob McKibbin Harstine Island County budget cuts mean encl to animal control Editor, the Journal Cuts to budgets and ser- vices are occurring at an alarming rate. Up next on the chopping block may be Mason County's only for- mal advocate for animals. Sheriffs Deputy Cindy Brewer. It's inconceivable that Mason County would be totally devoid of any ani- mal control. Mason County's Ani- mal Control Program operates under the au- thority of RCW 16.52 and County Ordinance 4.08 The animal control officer has authority to investigate incidents of aggressive animals, biting animals, animal neglect, animal abuse and animal cruelty. Animal complaints in Mason County contribute to a significant portion of the sheriffs Office work- load. Annually calls tbr ser- vice relating to animals amounts to between 8 percent and 12 percent of the sheriffs total calls for service. Mason County not only does not have an animal shelter, but also may soon have no one to address seri- ous animal related issues. This budget cut is totally irresponsible and unaccept able. Shelleen Mathews. Director Wild Felid Advocacy Center of Washington. Shelton USPS 492-800 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Shelton-Mason County Journal, RO. Box 430. Shelton, WA 98584. Published weekly by Shelton-Mason County Journal, Inc. at 227 West Cota Street, Shelton. Washington Mailing address: RO. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584 Telephone (360) 426-4412 • w@w.masoncounty.com Periodicals postage paid at Shelton. Washington Shelton-Mason County Journal is a member of Karl Sleight, publisher Washington Newspaper Publishers' Association. Jesse Mullen, general mgr. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $37 per year for Mason County addresses, $51 per year in state of Washington but outside Mason County, $61 per year out of state. Owned and puNishedby Shelton-Mason County Journal, Inc Advertising: Dave Pierik, advertising manager Harvey Morris, ad representative Newsroom: Kevan Moore, managing editor Front office: Aria Shephard, North Mason, Donna Kinnaird, bookkeeper environment, reporter Margot Brand, circulation Natalie Johnson, reporter Cricket Carter, mailroom Emily Hanson sports reporter supervisor Adam Rudnick, copy ed tor Composing room: William Adams, graphics Koleen Wood, classifieds/legals Becky Corr, typing Pressroom: Kelly Riordan. production manager Travis Miller press operator Page A-4 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, Novernber 24, 2011