People say Evansville offers a “good quality of life.” Or, “Evansville is a good place to raise a family.” Quality of life is not free. Who pays for it?
Few of us are so fortunate to live in gated sub divisions with private swimming pools, where residents go to the country club for their golf and tennis. Most Evansvillians find homes they can afford close to town and close to their work. After the cost of raising a family, they have little left to pay for anything other than bare necessities. How they answer the following questions will determine if they stay here or flee to the suburbs where taxes are lower.
• Should fees be hiked for Evansville golf courses?
• Should Evansville’s children pay more to swim in the city’s pools?
• Should we charge for recreation and relaxation at city parks?
• Should trash pick up fees be increased?
• Should ticket prices at Robert’s Stadium or Bosse Field be raised?
• What about fees at the ice rink or burial in the city cemeteries?
• Should we pay when we call the fire department or the police? should toll gates go up along our main roads?
• Are kids denied a peek at the animals at the zoo because the fees are out of line? Are book rental fees for school children really unconstitutional?
These are questions that have been debated as long as city governments have existed. How do we answer them? Results of Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel’s efficiency study are in and apparently their answer is “yes” to all of the above. Hold on. We ought to debate this. Must every service have fees to cover its costs.
If you think some or all of these services should not have to show a profit, how will we pay for the losses? Where will the money come from? Local option income tax? Riverboat money? These funds are mostly tapped out so what about the old reliable property tax?
Property tax is the most hated and most misunderstood tax. Many would argue that it is the fairest tax since almost everyone pays it directly or indirectly, rich and poor, big and small.. And you pay only in relation to the value of your property. Big property owners pay more, little guys pay less. Much more than half of the property tax in Vanderburgh County is paid by the big property owners, Aztar, Vectren, Whirlpool, Bristol-Myers, etc. Homeowners only pay about one dollar in two. When we raise property taxes instead of user fees, we are shifting much of the cost to the big corporations, who get off scot-free when user fees are raised.
In recent years because of the limits placed on the property tax by the legislature, most city services have been paid for by user fees. For example, trash pick up costs me $8 a month, nearly $100 a year. This is not the fairest way to pay for this service. I am a senior citizen on limited income, living in a modest home. Yet I pay the same for trash removal as the richest person living in the biggest house. It would be much more equitable to charge a $4 fee with the rest put on the property tax where all pay according to the value of their property. The same could be said for all other city services which make our quality of life affordable.
The next time a headline screams, “Golf fees to go up again.” Let’s don’t just accept if. Let’s talk about it. Our quality of life is at stake.
