Why won't Idaho lower rates to help residents?

Property taxes, especially on waterfront property have increased to the point that staying in our home is nearly impossible. I moved here in 1995 to retire and be left alone but now my property assessment has increased almost three times since 2000 and the tax amounts to about twice that of my mortgage payment. One third of my retirement annuity is spent on property taxes not to mention State income and sales tax. Needless to say I have had to find extra work just to keep up with the taxes.

 At the same time, we get virtually no services in our area of Bottle Bay on Lake Pend Oreille. We have to maintain our access roads summer and winter, have no garbage pickup or city water, no TV cable or natural gas. Nine months of the year we have diminished to no access to the water because of the 12-foot water drop. We should only be paying waterfront taxes for three months of the year. The lake is so screwed up one would starve to death trying to catch a meal.

 The several million dollars we pay in the various state taxes here in the Bottle Bay area is enough to start our own city. Is there no end in sight of this greedy State’s taxation practices? This year lake front property has been selling slowly and owners are getting in some cases less than half of the asking price. Washington state has already lowered property taxes but Idaho will not look at this until 2010. Will these tax-rasing-charlatans find a way to trick up the value with various other rates to get another increase?

 It is ironic that we have the right to bear arms against intruders into our home but the state and county tax monsters can slowly take your property without blinking an eye. Is anyone out there with me on this or am I just blowing into the north wind?

I’m angry.

JACK SATKOSKI

Sagle