Island Residents Get a Bargain For their Taxes?
Gilford Town Administrator Scott Dunn’s comments regarding an island resident’s distain for the new parking pass policy, gave me a moment of pause. For those that might not have read the Laconia Daily Sun’s article, the Town Administrator claimed that the new fees to park at Glendale docks were a “bargain” compared to other commercial offers. He went on to express that the cost of maintaining the Glendale facility was quite a burden to local residents that are simply struggling to pay their taxes just so island residents can stay at their island homes.
As a budget committee member, but not speaking for the committee, I have a deep respect for Gilford's much improved Town Administrator. I should also applaud the efforts to increase revenues where ever possible, however his statements are a complete disconnect with my engrained belief in the intent of our constitution. Out of town residents that own property in Gilford are actually being taxed without representation. I know that no one cares about their plight because they can afford a second home but seriously, does that make it right? Ask yourself a basic question. Do these people have the right to vote for the representatives that effect their property taxes? I believe this country had a tea party and many years of bloodshed over the answer to that question. Even if the out of town resident had attended the “many public meetings” on this policy, who would have cared about their concerns? Essentially, the out of town property owners get the hand gesture on many of their concerns simply because they are “fortunate” enough to own multiple homes. That plays well in public rhetoric but isn’t this fundamentally wrong? How would you feel if you were imposed an additional fee to park more than one car in your driveway simply because you are “fortunate” enough to own more than one car?
To further my point, the Town Administrator stated that the island residents were getting a huge bargain in the Glendale facility. If he truly thinks this is so then surely he’d gladly allow the island residents to succeed from the town and close the Glendale facility. Based on his statements, wouldn’t this be a huge savings? I think not! He knows that the taxes received from the island properties is a huge windfall compared to the services they receive.
Rather than publicly spanking a tax payer, shouldn’t we be a bit nicer to the hand that feeds us? Unfortunately, the answer is NO because most island residents are not allowed to engage in the constitutionally guaranteed process of voting for their elected representation simply because they are too “fortunate”. The American dream is attainable for everyone; just make sure you don’t become to “fortunate”!
