Read my lips

In a political ad inserted into Sunday’s Columbian, David Madore, a candidate for county commissioner, wrote that Commissioner Marc Boldt has “raised property taxes six times in six years! 4 times to the maximum allowed by law.”

Madore pledged that he “will balance the budget without raising taxes. Does not believe government needs more of your hard earned dollars.”

Boldt, seeking his third four-year term, took to Facebook to respond:

“I’m sorry to see Mr. Madore publish misleading information like he did today in the Columbian. He is becoming a consummate politician who is not giving voters all the information. He keeps sharing just enough to deliberately lead voters to believe he can instantly fix our problems. He cannot.

I share the whole picture so voters are informed, not misled. Please join me in sharing this information
by sharing this posting on your Facebook wall.

For many, many years counties raised their property tax by 6 percent and then an initiative was passed to limit increases to 1% percent. That was not enough to keep up with inflation, but it was accepted that counties would increase their property tax by 1% to not fall too far behind. Remember, property taxes do not go up and down with property value in our state.

At the time initiative 601 was in place, Initiative 601 required there would be no unfunded state mandates. But the legislature got rid of 601 and forced every county to fund all of the state required mandates. Yes, that means the county does not have a choice. The state passes the laws and the county gets the bill.

As a result, we can increase the county portion of your property tax by 1% to offset the result. That 1% doesn’t begin to cover the costs. It’s only a $3 a year increase for most people. These are dollars to save our schools … our jails. .. our courts … our health department … social services … and much more.”