Kudos to Commissioner Carlson for asking "Where's the money coming from?" and then voting "no" to voluntarily reducing county revenue. The other commissioners should have followed the rookie's lead. Instead, the majority approved measures (senior citizen tax break and combat troop stipend) which had been turned down or tabled back when the county had the money to spend. What's the logic; now that we can't afford it, we'll do it? I'm not addressing the merits of either proposal, but neither should the commission have. The county should simply not entertain requests for exemptions or expenditures from special interest groups until its revenue stream is stable; tax reductions have consequences. ...more

November 25, 2008