In the Dec. 6 commission meeting county government threw down the gauntlet to declare fiscal war on county taxpayers. A declining economic pie squeezes business sales and profits, but county government, instead of sharing recession pain, demands new taxes to actually increase their share of that pie.
Via utility fees and business license fees, taxpayers sacrifice for the health, safety, and welfare of government employees. In 2008 county wages and benefits swallow a gigantic 83 percent of general fund tax revenues, up from 75 percent in 1999. They earn, we squirm.
No wonder we can't have a community/senior center. When taxpayers are forced to sacrifice to protect government privilege, the applicable description is socialism.
County commissioners reviewed staff progress on developing a business license and fee structure and voted 4-1 ordering staff to develop an implementing ordinance.
As usual, a commission composed of "three ayes, one straight arrow, and a chameleon" followed their normal voting pattern. The straight arrow expresses concern for the county's fiscal future, the chameleon fluctuates unpredictably, the other three could just as well send emissaries to vote "aye" and stay home. Two "ayes" won't be candidates for re-election so vote for every increase in bureaucracy and regulation, every tax and fee, and every giveaway to the developers whose wild overbuilding causes Nevada to have the highest foreclosure rate in the U.S.
The third "aye" is newly elected and clearly doesn't contemplate explaining to voters in 2010.
The county clerk/treasurer said a business license fee was tried six times previously, all failing when taxpayers trooped into commission chambers to vigorously protest.
Now things have changed, she said, implying sparse attendance of the commission meeting indicated business apathy or acceptance.
Apparently the hundreds of businesses represented by the executive directors of the Chamber of Commerce and Business Council, both of whom spoke against the license, was less impressive than physically jamming commission chambers in droves and commandeering the microphone for hours to vehemently denounce commissioners. When the ordinance comes back for a vote, business owners need to show up in person and express themselves.
Commissioners said license processing expenses should be minimized but demanded heavy penalties if mom-and-pop shops fail to comply. Just like any imperial government.
And anyone believing county staff will very long hold regulation to a minimum should gather around the Christmas tree and wait for Santa Claus. From the other side of their mouths commissioners expressed a dire need to inspect each and every business to assure public health, safety, and welfare. They didn't mention that inspection costs money. A lot of money. And manpower.
Rising to the occasion Commissioner Baushke playing Scrooge threatened that without new taxes we could expect closure of libraries and parks, reduction of public safety and senior and other services, all the things that hurt most.
Over-weening government piles anti-taxpayer regulation on regulation, tax on tax, while he and his fellow "ayes" hand $24.7 million cash and $15 million infrastructure subsidies to a north county box store developer to suck vitality away from Mom and Pop stores.
That along with over-staffing and employee compensation are the real cause of budget shortfalls, not the flattening tax revenues which for the 2008 General Fund are a healthy 5.6 percent increase. Who would care if the community development department was cut 50 percent to save more than $1 million and render a business license fee unnecessary?
n Jack Van Dien is a Gardnerville resident and a counselor for SCORE.
