I’m about to do something I’ve not done yet in the Sun Day and voice my opinion on an issue circulating through Sun City like a rampant tornado, an adjective that is a bit superfluous because, by their nature, tornadoes are rampant. But apparently so are property taxes.
I call what I usually write editorials, but technically, they are columns, as they lack opinion(s) on current issues or news stories. Until now, I’ve avoided writing editorials for two reasons. One, I’m an outsider, despite that I own and manage the community’s newspaper and that my parents live here. And two, as I’m not a resident, I’m not allowed to attend board meetings, where many of the primary issues on the lips of residents are discussed. The latter reason makes my personal association to the topic third party at best, and if I’m going to offer my opinion, the information I’m drawing it from better come straight from the horse’s mouth, or I’m just cranking the Rumor Mill.
But these property taxes are something else indeed, and I wanted to toss in my two cents.
When I first started reporting in the Huntley area several years ago, Sun City’s property taxes (or more accurately, that a significant portion of the property taxes went to a school district the residents didn’t use) was one of the first issues I learned about.
I admit that I support the system of taxes. That’s not to say I like it, and that’s not to say that I think the overall taxing system is fine the way it is. Republican, democrat, no matter who’s sitting in the Big Chair, taxes are too high. But our government bodies (village level all the way to federal) need money to operate, and that money should come from its resident citizens. It’s in part what gives us a sense of ownership and helps us define our freedom. Even the high taxes might be easier to swallow if the controlling bodies weren’t so terrible at spending or allocating our hard-earned money.
Frankly, property taxes almost everywhere are out of line.
For example, my wife and I have been looking for houses, and although our opinions on where we should live and in what kind of house are virtually identical, exactly where we will live is where we split our opinions. I want to live in the middle of nowhere where my closest neighbor is a mile down the road. My wife, although she doesn’t want the neighbor’s house to be right on top of ours, is partial to a more suburban environment. A few months ago, we thought we found the perfect house while skimming some of the real estate websites. It was close to a dream home, and the location appealed to both our preferences. Not to mention, it was a newly built home, but custom, and the builders used old hardware, old doors, and old trim. It sat on a residential block with about eight other houses, and it was backed up to a corn field. Perfect. It was a house we could see ourselves in for 20 years or more and one we could raise a family in. It was almost affordable, too. With the market the way it is, we figured it would probably remain listed until we were ready to buy. Then we noticed how long it had been on the market, which isn’t surprising given the state of said market, but it was hard to believe this home wasn’t snatched up. It wasn’t too long before we discovered its property taxes. Nearly $12,000. Yeah, it just kind of spilled out on us, too, like that. In one big, hard-to-swallow, dream-ending chunk. Even if we could afford it, it was highway robbery that cost more money per month than the mortgage.
And what’s going on right now with property taxes in Sun City reminds me of Medieval taxing: The country is out of money? Let’s tax the people more. What I don’t understand about this manner of thinking is, Where do the taxing bodies think its citizens are going to come up with more money? It’s commonly understood that retirees are living on fixed incomes, but you don’t have to be retired to live on a fixed income. Most of us are on fixed incomes. We can only make so much, and usually nowadays it’s either just enough or not enough to get by.
It’s tough to take a hit like the increase seen in Sun City.
What I never liked about the school district-tax issue in Sun City is when Sun City residents contest paying, a morality issue is thrown out. Well, they say it takes a whole village to raise a child.
I do believe that old adage, but it’s not like we’re living in 1808. To me, what it comes down to is that Sun City comprises almost half of Huntley’s population. If Sun City went away, Huntley and, subsequently, the district would be in trouble.
So what to do?
I think Sun City residents should pay a portion of their taxes to the school district, be part of the village that raises the children. However, it shouldn’t be such a large percentage and that should be taken into account by the local taxing bodies.
It’s said that everything is okay in moderation. We can handle moderation.
