At age 85 I had hoped my days of criticizing local government were over but it has become so bad, so ludicrous, so self-serving, so stupid, and so blatantly corrupt I, a life-long Republican with nary a trace of a Democrat vote in my blood stream, can no longer resist.
Good business and yes, even personal practice is to immediately deposit checks received so that the funds can begin earning interest (not to mention determining that the checks are not drawn on insufficient funds – even if payors are personal friends or political cronies).
Alerted to news that the County Treasurer’s office was experiencing “inexperience” I took an envelope containing our timely property tax payment to the Courthouse Administration Building on Nov. 27 and placed it in the box provided on the ground floor near the Treasurer’s office. I then came home that day and noted in my personal appointment book that I had indeed delivered the payment as my wife would never forgive me if I had been a day late paying as I was in the previous year (a senior moment to be sure).
As of Dec. 29, date of our latest bank statement, our check has not been deposited. Thus the county has lost a month’s interest on what is for us a sizable chunk of change. How many thousands of other taxpayers’ funds are languishing in boxes and desk drawers at the county offices (and why isn’t some responsible county official raising hell about this kind of dereliction of duty and fiscal responsibility?) Of course we wouldn’t expect our Commissioners to take such action as it would be deleterious to their friends in office.
ALL tax payments should be deposited within a day or two of receipt. Allocation of such funds to the many rat holes sucking up our payments could come later. (I bet the commissioners didn’t miss their paychecks, did they?)
It is long past time to clean out this mess- and the Treasurer’s desk- and her chair. And while we’re at it let’s clean out the Board of Commissioners who have let this preposterous situation continue. This incompetent and obviously bamboozling Treasurer must go – without further ado.
W.C. Bolen
Hamilton