HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-12-19 Public Comment - B. Gallik - TaxesFrom:Cyndy Andrus
To:Agenda
Subject:Fwd: taxes
Date:Tuesday, November 12, 2019 11:15:11 AM
Sent from my iPhone
Begin forwarded message:
From: "Bozeman, MT" <webadmin@bozeman.net>
Date: November 12, 2019 at 10:59:22 AM MSTTo: Cyndy Andrus <CAndrus@BOZEMAN.NET>
Subject: taxesReply-To: brian gallik <brian@galliklawfirm.com>
Message submitted from the <City Of Bozeman> website.
Site Visitor Name: brian gallik
Site Visitor Email: brian@galliklawfirm.com
I write to ask that the City Commission take seriously the rejection by Bozeman
and other County voters of the bond request for the critically needed Law andJustice Center and hit the pause button on more city-imposed property taxes.
With all due respect to the City’s "Public Safety Center," a new, expanded andsafe county facility for the district courts, justices of the peace, the county
attorney, and law enforcement has been for many years the most important needof this community, second only, in my opinion, to a second high school. The
decision to split the City and County facilities was -- and is -- the most short-sighted decision elected officials have made in my many years here in Bozeman.
All I ask is that you hold off on more tax increases until we get a new courthousewhich will allow for additional district court judges and address the backlog of
serious cases (felonies, family law, dependent and neglect, and significant civildisputes (not the misdemeanor and small civil claims the municipal court in the
"Safety Center" handles)) that cry out for attention. The taxes on my home, on North Third, increased 40% this past year. Three (3) of
my neighbors (elderly) have either sold, or are in the process of selling, homesthey have lived in for over 40 years because they can’t afford the taxes. My
neighbor to the south, who is also a small business owner in downtown Bozeman,said he believes this Commission views the residents as nothing more than an
“ATM machine.” He has relocated to Gateway, where the property taxes aresubstantially lower.
Something needs to change. I have grown weary of reading about the “cost to a$200,000 home” (which doesn’t exist in this community) of a tax for parks, a tax
for trails, a tax for open space, etc. Look at the color-coded tax bill. It’s death by athousand cuts, sprinkled with a few swings of the axe.
Step up and step back.