Put it to a Vote

What if your teenager sent you a bill for a new car he wanted to buy and threatened to put a lien on your home if you failed to send a check? Property owners in Eagle received just such a notice from Mayor Bandy last week. The City of Eagle is attempting to impose a $7.2 million dollar tax without a vote of support from the taxpayers.

Eagle City government has a long history of ignoring voters and abusing taxpayers. Exhibit A: City Hall. After numerous failed bond elections, the city government circumvented the will of the voters and created a lease scheme to build a grand palace for themselves. This building stands as a monument to their sense of entitlement and enthusiasm for spending other people’s money.

The mayor keeps saying that this water plan has been in the works for years. This is true. The City has been trying to increase their power and raise rates with a water monopoly for decades. A number of years ago the City tried to buy the Eagle Water Company. At that time a bond election was held and the voters soundly rejected the idea. The LID scheme, like the city hall lease, is just another tactic to avoid accountability to the taxpayers.

The state legislature is currently working on HB 535 to prevent such taxpayer abuse by overzealous city governments. Councilman Norm Semanko tried to get the city council to postpone this tax increase until the legislature acted, but couldn’t get anyone else on the council to second his motion.

If the water company monopoly is such a great deal, then Mayor Bandy and the city council should not be afraid to put it to a vote. We put our trust in these elected officials at the last election, now it’s time they trust the voters.

The Idaho Public Utilities Commission reports that Eagle Water Company generates around $120,000 a year in net operating income. This would indicate an investment rate of return of less than 1.7 percent on a $7.2 million dollar purchase price. This may explain why Mayor Bandy and the city council members are not investment advisors. I strongly doubt that they would invest their own money in such a company at this rate.

Americans have a strong tradition of requiring government to ask citizens before raising taxes. The real public hearing is an election. The proper way to do this is with a bond election, not an LID scheme.

Teenagers with a history of irresponsible spending should not be trusted with the family credit card. Please contact Mayor Bandy and the members of the city council at 489-8790 and ask them to put this tax increase to a vote on the May 28 Primary Election.

If you are in favor of putting this issue to a vote, you can also sign a petition at eaglewatertax.com. Then show up with your comments and teabags at the March 18th meeting at City Hall.