Letter to the editor: no need to raise county taxes

Recently there have been several newspaper articles concerning the approval of the 2012 Flathead County budget and the potential for property tax increases to pay for higher than expected costs at the 911 Center. For the citizens of Flathead County, this is a reminder of the importance of ensuring our county’s budget is run like a business, not a bureaucracy. 

Emergency services such as the 911 Center are services we expect our county and cities to provide, but the recent articles cited a construction and development budget that ballooned by over $3,000,000 with a cost of $2,500,000 per year to run the facility. While I applaud our elected officials for addressing this issue publicly and with transparency, their property tax increase proposal is not the right answer.

Like other business owners throughout the Flathead, our region’s economic situation has forced us to make difficult and creative decisions that have allowed us to keep our company vibrant, productive and profitable. Our county should run the same way: like a business. That means we must not raise taxes on the people of this county. As a Republican candidate for Flathead County Commissioner, I believe in smaller government and lower taxes. The county can no longer run as it always has. It is time to take the hard look at each department and, as all private businesses in the valley have had to do, find creative and responsible solutions that will prevent tax increases on hard working Flathead County families.   

I believe that we cannot add any more taxes to our residents and businesses in this current economic climate. We have to take a business approach to government and start looking at ways to change the county to a performance-based budget. We can pay for the services we expect without additional taxes. As a businessman and a candidate for commissioner, I look forward to working with the commissioners to lower taxes and create a vibrant economy for the Flathead.

Terry Kramer,

Republican Candidate for Flathead County Commissioner