Do taxpayers really want ‘The Truth’

The headline in last week's editorial on the "Truth in Taxation" process was a play on the words, but to at least one local government official, it struck a nerve.

"We spend hours putting all of the budget information together for the presentation, along with all the other information that goes into determining property taxes," New Prague city administrator Mike Johnson said. "The whole process of creating a budget is discussed in open meetings that the public is welcome to attend. Everything is out there in the open. We can't make people attend these meetings."

I'll admit that my headline, "Is there 'Truth' in taxation? ' placed a negative tone over the whole process. It implied that there was something not truthful in the Truth in Taxation meetings.

But as Johnson stated, the entire process is as up-front, open and honest as can be. Perhaps my criticism of the process comes from the cynicism of having attended too many of these meetings over the past 27 years. When you hear the same thing being repeated annually in front of a mostly empty room, and then months later hear people in the coffee shops or in letters to the editor wonder why their property taxes are too high, it tells me there is some sort of disconnect.

People do have a chance to have their voice heard by their local government. But the time to be heard is not in the spring, when the first property tax payment is due, but rather in the fall, when those property tax rates are being determined.

As it stands, no one is turning out to these meetings. That is what my criticism was meant to target. As Johnson said, there is a lot of work that goes into preparing these presentations.

Maybe the problem isn't with the process, as my editorial tried to point out. Maybe it's with the people.

There's a saying when it comes to elections, "Democracy belongs to those who show up." Well, no one is showing up for these hearings. That's not necessarily the fault of the city, schools or counties, but something should be done to either help get the citizens more engaged in the process.

So maybe a better headline to last week’s editorial would come from the old X-Files TV series... “The truth is out there.” It’s just that so few people seem to be interested in it.

* * * * * The month of December is a very busy time at The New Prague Times, but we don’t want to let it go by without wishing all of our readers a Very Merry Christmas.

We hope you enjoy the annual Christmas Section included in this week’s newspaper. The children’s drawings are a unique way to get the community involved in celebrating the season. We’ve been doing the drawings now for 37 years, and some of the children who made drawings for that first edition have seen their own children’s drawings in the paper. I’m guessing it won’t be much longer, if it hasn’t already happened, that we’ll have a third generation artist showcasing their holiday drawings in The Times.

Suel Printing Company

Copyright © Suel Printing Company
All Rights Reserved
200 Main St E
New Prague, MN 56071

Phone: 952-758-4435
Fax: 952-758-4135

If you would like to receive a FREE digital edition with a paid print subscription please call 952-758-4435.