LIDS: County election test

Today at 10 a.m., the Kootenai County commissioners will be deciding if the East Side Highway District's (ESHD) three proposed Local Improvement Districts (LID) followed the procedures spelled out by state statute. You know, the LIDs that highway commissioners paid for last year with Burma Road dedicated improvement funds that were to be replaced with "easy" LID money.

Seventy percent of the citizens within the LIDs have submitted WRITTEN objections of the LIDs forcing a review by county commissioners as required by law. Talk about citizen involvement!

In the May elections, the presiding ESHD commissioner and chairman Dorsey was soundly defeated by the people as 78 percent voted for candidates standing staunchly against the LIDs with Mark Addington winning Dorsey's seat. Chris Filios won the northern ESHD district seat on promises to not put forth a LID without first discussing with the residents. No taxation without representation, the people changed their representation.

We the people of the ESHD wait to see if the county commissioners acknowledge that ESHD did not follow Idaho state statutes as required by law. Will they find that doubling or tripling a citizen's property tax burden as is happening with the O'Gara Road LID to be fair and just? How much is too much of a burden as our economy turns down yet again and other taxing districts increase their rates? We the people of the East Side wait and stand ready to exercise our last option which was so effectively used in the last election of the East Side Highway District.

JAMES WHIPPLE

Harrison