Assessor comments on candidates forum
To The Eagle:
After attending the candidate's forum last Wednesday night, I came away with a couple of observations.
One is that there is a serious lack of understanding as how property taxes are assessed in the county and the other is that, in my opinion, at least two of the candidates manipulate this lack of understanding to bolster themselves and further their agendas to get elected as county commissioners.
In the State of Washington, our property tax system is unique in that it is a budget based, budget limited system as opposed to a rate-based system as in other states.
In a rate-based system the rate stays the same from year to year. The effect of this system is that if property values go up, taxing districts (counties, cities, fire districts, etc.) will experience their property tax revenues increase at the same rate as their property value increases. In the state of Washington's budget based system, regardless how much property values go up, the taxing districts are limited to a 1 percent tax collection unless voters approve higher amounts.
The State of Washington further requires that the assessor's office value property at 100 percent of true and fair market value. The assessor's office does not create value. What it does do is gather data and through this data assesses value based on real estate transactions as of January 1 of the revaluation year.
Wahkiakum County is one of 17 counties out of 39 counties that still revalues every four years. For instance, the Town of Cathlamet and areas that comprise Reval Area 2 have just undergone revaluation for 2009 taxes. The Reval Area 2 will continue to coast with this same value for the next four years. What will change are the levy rates, and historically the higher the tax base of the county, the lower the levy rates.
A question was brought up by a Realtor with whose basic concept I tend to agree and that is whether assessing on an annual basis be a better option for a small county such as ours, perhaps provided money is made available for manpower and hard- and software. Annual revaluations could conceivably be less severe on us as taxpayers, especially on an active market. What I do not agree with is the way that Coons and Flohr deflected the question with a vicious attempt to impugn the credibility of the assessor's office.
It is a fact that the only ones that can effect a change in the laws affecting taxes are the state legislature and us as individual taxpayers. The rest is so much rhetoric.

Sulema Zerr
Wahkiakum County
Assessor
Grays River

Writer encourages vote for Sutherland
To The Eagle:
I am writing to encourage your readers to vote for Doug Sutherland. He is running for Commissioner of Public Lands.
As a retired educator and school district deputy superintendent, I know how much school districts depend on a balanced view of managing ouar timber lands. Skilled stewardship of our timber resources provides direct benefit to school districts and other public systems across our state.
Doug Sutherland has done an excellent job ensuring a sustainable harvest that has provided over $1 billion in non-tax revenue for school districts and counties. I support, and encourage your readers to support, Doug Sutherland's reelection as Commissioner of Public Lands.

Mark Rosin
Longview

Some candidates give us a good laugh
To The Eagle:
If you haven't read the official Voters' Pamphlet for the August 19 primary, you really should -- not out of civic duty, but for sheer entertainment value.
The first two candidates vying for Superintendent of Public Instruction (Blair and Hansler) have wonderful plans for the total revamping of the school system. Only catch is, you'd have to be Education Emperor, not superintendent to achieve even a fraction of the suggested reforms. Ever optimistic, I voted for one of them anyway, though I was sorely tempted by the guy on the next page (Blomstrom) who wants to follow the lead of the impish Venezuelan despot Hugo Chavez and go to war with our government, unions, and corporations and defeat the child-exploiting terrorist Bill Gates. Wow, what a guy! Hard to resist.
Then, up in the contenders for governor, there's Mohammed Hassan Said, who proposes to amend the U.S. Constitution, withdraw from Iraq, solve the Arab-Israeli conflict, and do battle with Jewish Zionist lobbies. Makes one wonder which Washington he wants to run. And Javier Lopez has noble ideas about eliminating fraud, waste, and sexual abuse in our schools, and will stoop to govern us even as he becomes the richest man on the planet from his invention of an automobile engine that runs on air. Hey, folks, I'm really not making this up. It's right there in the Voters' Pamphlet.
My absolute favorite though is Green candidate Duff Badgley, who wants to change Boeing to a solar panel factory, outlaw single occupancy vehicles (good-bye motorcycles and farm tractors) and lists nine different punishments for using carbon or biofuels. Then, he ends by calling for the protection of Washington trees. The best way to do this, of course, would be to emit all the carbon we possibly can and let the timber industry get back to normal. Somehow, I don't think that's what he had in mind. But you'll have to admit, it's a pretty effective program. If fully implemented, it could destroy our economy, ecology, environment, and energy in one deft stroke. That's way more damage than Christine Gregoire has managed to do in four whole years. Impressive!

Howard Brawn
Puget Island

Painting communicates more than words
To the Eagle:
I was touched by the photo of Dian Eakin holding the painting done by her son in the Aug 7,2008 issue of the Eagle.
Dian states that her son who is autistic and nonverbal has never said, "Mommy, I love you". My immediate reaction to the painting was he has just "said" 'Mommy I love you.'
How tender, how sweet, meaningful and memorable.

Carol Koenig
Puget Island

Clinic manager appreciates donors
To The Eagle:
A big thank you to all of you who have sent donations to our Keep the Clinic Open fund. So far we’ve received $15,473 and are very encouraged by your support. I’m sure our hard work will pay off, and your contributions will ensure that we will keep operating until we see the benefits of our changes. Thank you so much! If you haven’t sent in your donation yet, please make it today. Every dollar helps. And if you’re not a patient at the clinic but want to make sure this community keeps its local medical resource, your donations are welcome too. All donations are tax deductible. We appreciate each one of you.

Kathy Patterson
Wahkiakum Family
Practice Clinic Manager