GROWTH: Identify the source

This responds to County Finance Director Dena Darrow’s quote in the tax article in Monday’s paper (Dec. 28).

The Director states, “If we can’t tax to keep up with new growth, we can’t have new growth.”

This is fallacious bureaucrat speak. The landowner sells to the developer at great profit. The developer develops with county approval at great profit. The purchasers of “growth properties” apparently have the money to fund these profits. Why should existing property owners be taxed for this growth?

The county should require these “profiteers” to pay for the growth from their profits. Profiteers should fund the roads, the schools, the infrastructure and other costs the Finance Director believes existing homeowners should bear.

I don’t mind funding through my taxes general county needs and maintenance and living wages to county employees, but why oh why should I be expected to pay extra costs generated by the profiteers who take their money and move on leaving taxpayers with the burden of their actions?

If new growth slows by demanding it pay for itself, so be it. The Director and County Commissioners should be more sensitive to existing taxpayers than to these “growth generators,” which sadly seems to be the case implicit in the article and quote.

TOM STUBER

Hauser