Hayden: It's all about the citizens

Here are some important points about Hayden’s levy increase request.

This requested increase is not something new. We have been working on it for years. We wanted to make sure we could make do without raising taxes if there were budget cuts or other needs. We made cuts and we reduced personnel, but with the levy rate so low, there isn’t much left to cut.

This council has always listened to the people of Hayden and if legally possible, followed their direction. We work for the citizens. The ballot language was specific that the money would be used for road and law enforcement. The council was adamant that the money would not be used for anything else or end up in the general fund and that the citizens should decide if they want their taxes increased. It is not my place to suggest how you should vote. It’s my responsibility to point out any issues and work with our citizens to solve them.

In regard to the roads, we were trying to plan for the future. It’s much less costly to fix the roads early and maintain them now, rather than waiting for them to completely fall apart.

In regard to law enforcement, we were trying to stay proactive. Could it be that by being proactive, police presence is having the intended effect? We have major crime all around us, yet our statistics show incidents are either down or slowly increasing. We also use the sheriff’s officers rather than having our own police as it is effective and comes at a much, much lower cost. I call this responsible and effective planning. Stop the crime before it happens.

The city of Hayden isn’t apples to apples to other cities. We did not say it was. We don’t have our own police department or fire department and that was always disclosed in our Town Hall meetings. We simply used tax rates from other cities so our citizens could see the difference in levy rates, so they could be informed and decide which way to vote. We will continue to work with our citizens to solve our issues that need to be addressed. We always have and always will listen to the people.

The national rhetoric that is going on is dividing our country. The city of Hayden keeps politics out of our decisions and tries to do what’s best for our citizens. Please, please, please, let’s keep it that way.

Please remember all decisions made by the council affect us, too. If taxes are raised, we are not exempt; we pay, too.

Maybe one of the reasons our city property taxes are so low is that we might be doing something right. We don’t want to be like other cities. I like our little city just fine.

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Roger Saterfiel is a member of the Hayden City Council.