Stop hiking taxes, elect better stewards of our money

CAROL BAY had this letter published in the October 22 Dispatch/Argus. ..... marks paragraph breaks. "The lead story in an Oct. 16 Davenport newspaper is "No Social Security bump in '16", saying that with inflation so low seniors will not get a cost-of-living increase in Social Security benefits. ..... The lead story in the Oct. 16 Dispatch/Argus is "RICo needs cash now" and calls for a 16.8 percent increase in Rock Island County property taxes. ..... Many municipalities, school and library boards, and other local taxing bodies routinely increase their property tax levy by 5 percent every year, the largest increase possible without a referendum giving taxpayers a voice in the process. ...... Five percent every year doubles your property taxes every 14 years. Why are property taxes going up far higher than the rate of inflation? Could it be that our municipalities, schools, libraries and other taxing bodies are not wise stewards of the taxpayer dollar? ..... Perhaps we need to elect new stewards who will defend the taxpayer dollar. ...... Rock Island County taxes are too high compared to Scott County where property taxes actually declined. It is difficult to sell homes here, there are few new homes built, and there are many abandoned buildings. Raising taxes borders on insanity. ..... Many seniors would leave Illinois in a minute if we could sell our homes for our purchase price but local home values have declined. Few newcomers to the area would even consider buying in Illinois. ..... Rock Island County and the state of Illinois are on a downward spiral. ..... Raising taxes hastens our decline."