According to the Nov. 1 paper, Phil Herrington, the Carson City building official, is pushing the board of supervisors to increase the price of a building permit by about $1,000 for an average house.
Gee! This is great! The value of my house jumps $1,000, a gift from the board of supervisors. But hold on a minute, the $1,000 increase won't do me any good unless I sell my house. What it will do is increase my property tax by the percentage increase in the value of my house.
Well, that's OK since the immediate effect would be to collect more money from the greedy builders and real estate developers, and since Herrington proposes to put the money in a lock-box ... don't you believe it! His proposal includes hiring five more city employees who will then be on the tax cost even when no new houses are being built.
If the above seems to be just a tongue-in-cheek play on words, you home owners better take it as a clarion call to fight another property tax increase. As we approach the legislated limit on property taxes, you can expect more of these hidden attacks.
ARCH COOKE
Carson City