To the editor:
As a past city council member I now have time to reflect as a citizen looking in at a council at work and be objective of the situation at hand. In his letter to the editor in the Aroostook Republican, councilor Mark Goughan was so clear and right on about his efforts to bring transparency to what’s going on in city government as it relates to the city of Caribou at this point in time.
Has anyone in the city office told anyone including the city council why our Homestead Exemption went from $13,000 to $11,500? Has anyone in the city office told anyone including the city council how they came up with the city valuation which the state uses to determine our Homestead Exemption? Cleary a mistake was made here by city management without council approval. Has anyone checked their tax bills lately and compared them with other comparables or more expensive properties to see if they are or are not paying more or less of their fair share of their property tax. If you haven’t you’d better think about looking into it and you will get an eye-opener. You will also find out that that old cliche about it’s who you are in this community that makes a difference who gets the property tax benefit of lower taxes they don’t deserve.
Anyone who wants to challenge me on this subject is welcome to contact me anytime and can also check my property taxes — which is all public info — take my tax information and compare it with a lot of other comparable properties in this community and you’ll know that I’m paying more than my fair share in property taxes. Also, members of this community want to be very thankful for having very hard working and concerned business people such as Mark Goughan and Doug Morrell who have taken a lot of time away from their businesses to watch over the budgetary process and carefully scrutinize the spending habits of the “yes vote on everything that comes down the pike crowd.”
These are challenging times and councilors like Mr. Goughan and Mr. Morrell are very concerned about how our tax dollars are spent and the hardships unwarranted taxes create for the average citizens who stretch their incomes to the limits just to survive in today’s world.
The citizens of this community will have a chance to prove whether or not they are sincere in an appreciation for these two council members who have devoted countless hours at their own time and expense to try and bring taxes in line with what the citizens of this community can afford and what their real needs are. Please get out and vote in November for these two valued and dedicated representatives who have served us so well on the council these past years.
Caribou
