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Tax Vote
I struggled over this
vote but I could not feel at ease only making this a political decision
for myself as some on the court did; this job is bigger than just me.
I did something on
September 21, 2011 that I never imagined I would do; I voted for a budget
for Ellis County that would cause the Ellis County Government tax rate to
increase by two cents. This will be an increase of about $28 per year
based on an average home value of around $136,000. This decision will not
be popular but I could not feel at peace with myself if I chose to hide
under a rock because it would be the politically correct thing to do. For
the last five months we have pressed the County Judge against any increase
and to look for ways to decrease costs. I feel that we did that but an
increase is still necessary at this time. The budget that was presented
was good and fair, not perfect, but does serve the needs for the upcoming
cycle.
The decision to vote
for this budget was not taken lightly and when I came into this office I
did so because there did not seem to be enough planning in any decision
that was made. As I looked at the old buildings the County owns in
downtown Waxahachie and did own in Ennis, it was obvious there was no
maintenance done, it was like they were ignored hoping no one would
notice. The original Justice Center Building that was attempted was done
so with no thought about long term viability and vision. This seemed to
be how the county operated for many years. It looked like it was
acceptable to continue to throw good money after bad. I felt it was time
to stop. We brought to the voters a concept of a new courts building and
jail expansion that should push Ellis County 30 or more years down the
road and the majority said yes. This would require maintenance and
service contracts because we could not allow this facility to fall into
disrepair as the old buildings had done. I felt it was not right to allow
“the can to be kicked down the road” to the next person.
We have seen extensive
population growth in this county for 15 years (149,800 currently) and have
felt the pains of that in all aspects of county government, from our roads
to our courts the demand has increased. This county rode the wave of
growth and gave back to the property owner minuscule tax decreases to look
good but demand increased. In 2004 the county voted to freeze taxes on
the retired. That was the right thing to do, but it decreased the tax
revenue although demand on county services continued to increase. This
was once a rural county filled with citizens of rural backgrounds, who
remembered the great depression and would do things so the government did
not have to. Now, the county has residents with a more urban background
that want to be politically correct and seem to expect the county
government to handle their problems because they pay taxes. This has
caused more demand on county services -- services like the courts and law
enforcement that must be there for crime, divorces, civil law suits, child
custody suits and property disputes. Because of the increase in
population our courts are busier. We have seen the demand on our roads
go from, lucky to live on a gravel road with five to ten pickups a day, to
paved roads with 100 to 500 cars per day. We have seen the cost to build
a paved road increase in the last five years by 300 percent or more. We
have a federal mandate to narrow band our radio communication system by
the end of 2012 or face fines that could run in the thousands. This has
been coming for twenty years but, again, it was ok to delay and let the
next group handle it. We are the next group. We are currently awaiting
the results of a lawsuit against the Ellis Central Appraisal District that
could cost the county hundreds of thousands of dollars. We must prepare
for this and not pass it down the road. A positive is we have seen crime
in this county decrease over the last 3 years because our Sheriff demands
accountability from the officers and criminals are starting to understand
that crime does not pay in Ellis County. I do not think we need to lose
this perception.
Casting this vote was
not easy but passing along our issues today to someone else down the road
is unacceptable in my eyes. I raised my sons to stand for what is right
and to be honest and accountable for their own actions. I have told them
that freedom is not free and it can not be maintained selfishly, we must
handle situations that arise and not push them off on someone else. I do
not like the fact that a two cent tax increase is necessary in this
economy but it cannot be pushed off to someone else down the road. This
court must continue to demand each department get smarter and find more
ways to cut spending. The county employees must understand that the
taxpayers can no longer fund everything. We all must look at our
surroundings and handle the things we can and not expect the government to
do it for us, be good neighbors. Sometimes this may mean just picking up
the trash on the side of the road or pushing the tree limb out of the road
after a storm.
It is important that
we live our lives constantly in prayer to insure that God is guiding our
actions and filling our spirit with peace. I try to live my life by this
and know that sometimes life will be tough but with God there is nothing
to fear. There is an old Indian proverb that says, “We do not inherit the
earth from our parents, we borrow it from our children.” We cannot
continue to kick the can down the road.
God Bless,
Heath Sims
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