Taxes
Politicos Continue Puppet Act For Chamber
In the spirit of Christmas, local politcos continue to act as puppets of the Chamber of Commerce–often at the expense of commoners unable to buy the access to power the Chamber controls. For a mere $40 you can drink and munch with politicians who don’t even understand they are being used like Willy Nelson at […]
Trucks Ride Free On ACHD Roads
After receiving several comments about the ballot language on the Ada County Highway District fee hike for auto registrations, we revisited the issue and learned some disturbing, but not surprising facts. About 16,500 trucks weighing over 8,000 pounds get a FREE RIDE on county roads. Meanwhile owners of 279, 454 passenger car owners have to […]
Ada Satellite Office Is No Space Station
Ada Assessor Bob McQuade has found a way to make it easier to get into the pockets of Star residents and he got Mayor Nate to put up half the wages for a clerk and offer free rent in the deal. McQuade is opening a branch office in Star staffed with two clerks to offer […]
Boise Officials Skirt Bid Law
Boise coppers will resume using the infamous shooting range in the foothills, but City officials will be competing with Pinocchio in the area of facial features when Councilors approve a new land acquisition Tuesday night. After declaring land at 25th and Fairview to be “surplus property” and ordering it to be sold to the highest […]
Rental Cars And Others Diddle System
When the Ada County Highway District pleaded poverty this week and floated the idea of doubling the fees for vehicle registration, it re-ignited a long smoldering issue the GUARDIAN has with rental car agencies and some other commercial vehicle users. Some 20 years ago when Ada County created the laws for emission testing and the […]
Ethanol Spells Corny Economics
Guest Post by Bill Goodnight The ethanol boondoggle was first brought to my attention during the 2006 legislative session when the Farm Bureau attempted to mandate that all gas pumps in Idaho dispense E10 (10% ethanol). I am the president of United Street Rods of Idaho, a lobbying organization for Idaho auto hobbyists. We were […]
Can CWI Trustees Be Trusted?
Good piece in the Daily Paper today by Bill Roberts about financial woes at the new community college that isn’t. He reports College of Western Idaho trustees are facing growing costs and uncertainty about property tax levies. Like Bill Clinton’s debate of “what IS is,” there seems to be a question of the details of […]
Dancing The Tax Dollar Shuffle
It seems like all the cities in Ada county and the courts themselves can’t get along with each other and the battles are all over money and poor decisions. Gone are the days of “putting the people first.” A recent ruling by 4th District Court Judges simply fails the test of logic when it comes […]
Sun Valley Politico Junket
Finally! The GUARDIAN has found common ground with local politicos and the Chamber of Commerce. We both discuss ad nausea the topic of growth, blueprint for growth, smart growth, regional cooperation, transit, local option taxes etc. AND WE HAVE BOTH ACCOMPLISHED NOTHING! The difference is the GUARDIAN does it for free. Once again the hard […]
Power To The People Prevails
Wow! What an intense week of positive events for the rights of citizens to vote on long term debt by local government. Just a week ago the Idaho Senate pushed a proposed constitutional amendment through in an attempt to get around the Supreme Court FRAZIER decision which reconfirmed the fact local governments must get approval […]
Local Government vs Citizens
Things have been pretty slow at the GUARDIAN of late. Spring break plays a big part to be sure, but we think citizens are fed up with the legislature-governor bickering, cities and counties adversary relationship with citizens, and the never ending presidential race. We took a trip to the Everglades where we made this neat […]
Commishes and School In Bidding War
Seems that local governments in Idaho have a lot in common when it comes to money management. This piece is from our sister blog the CALDWELL GUARDIAN. By CALDWELL GUARDIAN THE GUARDIAN has determined the Canyon Commishes earnest money offer and announced purchase of the state Job Service building out by Larry Miller Ford is […]
Major Tax Shift During Past Decade
Long time Democrat legislator Ken Robison of Boise offers up the following look at Idaho’s taxing record over the past decade and he concludes homeowners are taking on a bigger tax burden while business, utilities, and farmers—well represented by lobbying groups—are Paying less. By Ken Robison, (former legislator and journalist) Analysis of Idaho tax and […]
Jail For Sale Deals With State?
REPORTED BY CALDWELL GUARDIAN Looks like the State of Idaho is working on a plan to solve the overcrowding problem at the prisons–have the counties build new and bigger jails. A recent proposed contract deal between county sheriffs and the Corrections Department discussed at an IDAHO ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES DISTRICT III ELECTED OFFICIALS meeting explains […]
Hop Onboard GUARDIAN Transit Plans
There have been endless meetings, endless surveys, and endless chatter about “mass transit” in the valley. Now the cities are proposing a local option tax (probably a sales tax) to fund both highways and public transit. The legislature needs to exercise plenty of caution on this one. The GUARDIAN posted a plan for an “above […]
Low Price Is Not Low Worth?
The Daily Paper had one of those business page stories by Joe Estrella that left us scratching our heads Friday. Seems a bank economist told legislators the Treasure Valley has an unsold inventory of 7,000 homes and it will take a 15% drop in prices to get the housing market back on track. Since Idaho’s […]
GUARDIAN Stops Lien On Home
The Nampa-Meridian Irrigation District has placed a lien on the home of a Meridian man over a disputed $4.78 late fee. The insanity of a government agency spending untold cash to chase $4.78 so outraged the GUARDIAN that we drove to Nampa to pay the bill ourselves and put an end to the childish behavior. […]
Property Taxes Likely To Rise
Despite the nationwide decline in housing sales–and the subsequent value of homes–it is likely 2008 will bring a property tax increase. Here’s why. Ada Assessor Bob McQuade tracks local sale prices and has appraisers in the field on a daily basis. He predicts the valuations will be pretty much flat. Some of the “McMansions” may […]
City Mum On Financing Vision
Boise City Councilor Alan Shealy should be proud of his Planning and Zoning Department for being “pro-active” with the color drawing and unquestioning text on the front page of the Daily Paper Tuesday. The city has put forth a major planning effort in the area of 30th Street between State and Fairview for the past […]
Derail Amtrak In Idaho
What is it with politicos and trains? Seems they are all fascinated with the “concept” of having passenger trains…like the people riding the “Pumpkin Express” from Horseshoe Bend to Montour. Europe and Japan have trains, why can’t Americans have trains? One reason they have trains in other places is because they have massive amounts of […]
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