November 24, 2011 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
©
Shelton Mason County Journal. All rights reserved. Upgrade to access Premium Tools
PAGE 4 (4 of 22 available) PREVIOUS NEXT Jumbo Image Save To Scrapbook Set Notifiers PDF JPG
November 24, 2011 |
|
Website © 2025. All content copyrighted. Copyright Information Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Request Content Removal | About / FAQ | Get Acrobat Reader ![]() |
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