It’s Halloween season and the Douglas County Board of Commissioners are whistling past the grave yards. The rapid over-development of Douglas County is coming back to haunt us. It’s time the commissioners do the right thing and call for a moratorium on new home construction and water hook ups, before they destroy this county!

Our county is in a real quagmire. Our roads are full, our schools are full, our jail is full, but the drinking water reservoirs are near empty. The only solution officials offer us is a threat to cut off our water and a $1000 fine if we use it.

Over the past 10 years we have seen the clear-cutting and over-development of Douglas County . Now, the housing market has collapsed and the county has a bloated inventory of new homes that are not selling.

If new home are not selling, it means existing home are not selling either. With a glut of new homes on the market, existing home owners are forced to sale at well below fair market values. The result is less revenue from property taxes. Some estimate we will see a 10-20 percent drop in values.

One brink home in my neighborhood took 2 ½ years to sale, only after dropping the price $12,000.

In 2008, our property assessments should be lowered to reflect the down turn in real market values. Our county can not legally continue to raise property assessments in a down market. Homeowners who feel their property is over-assessed should file an appeal in 2008.

Home foreclosures have stunned the financial institutions and foreclosure listings in your newspaper have gone from 2 or 3 pages to over 20 pages. At least revenues there are good.

Therefore, based on the current situation, I am asking the board of commissioners to call for a one year moratorium on any new home construction and hook ups to our water system.

I also challenge our county and city government department heads to seek ways to reduce their budgets by a minimum of 5% in 2008. This is the responsible thing to do during uncertain times.

Douglas County homeowners can no longer sit by and allow our commission and council to continue to destroy our home values and quality of life.

Instead of making plans for the next 25 and 100 years, how about a plan for 2008 that will help to ensure our home values will remain stable. A plan that will ensure we have adequate, quality drinking water and a plan that will cut the size of government and uncontrolled spending.

Otherwise, they will squeeze the life from us all! And that’s the scary thing.

James Bell
Douglas County Taxpayers Coalition
404-452-4668

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