ISSUES: Don't overlook these

The focus of the incoming state legislators will most likely be on Proposition 2, Medicaid expansion. Yet for Kootenai County residents, two other issues must also be placed on the front burners: The homeowner’s property tax exemption and transportation funding.

First, the homeowner’s property tax exemption was capped at $100,000 back in 2016. This limit shifts the property tax burden from commercial properties to homeowners. Its effect is evident on your property tax bill: No matter how local governments fight for no increase, your taxes are going up every year as your home value appreciates. The legislators must repeal this cap.

Second, voters have sent to Boise a crop of anti-tax legislators. I agree that government spending must be watched at all times, but this anti-tax posturing has an effect on the county’s transportation infrastructure. In a way, a vote against new transportation fees is a vote for more traffic.

Remember: The gas tax and vehicle registration fees are paid by users. The people who use the roads pay for them. These are not broad taxes applied to everyone.

At a recent Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization meeting, the board was informed that the projected population for Kootenai County will double to more than 300,000 people in under 25 years. This increase will be born on a transportation system designed decades ago for a county with a population of 80,000. We see the effects of this inattention in the form of increased traffic delays, frequent backups and frustrating congestion.

To mitigate these problems, our legislators must act this session. By eliminating the $100,000 cap on the homeowner’s exemption, the property tax burden is again shifted to the commercial land owners and not residents. By coordinating their efforts to bring home adequate transportation funding, your legislators can help avoid perpetual gridlock and maintain our quality of life.

I ask all citizens to contact their legislators. Explain how the homeowner’s exemption must again be indexed. And urge them to work together to fund transportation projects that are necessary as our county grows, to continue our excellent quality of life.

DAN GOOKIN

Coeur d’Alene