To the editor:
We received our 2001 property tax statement today in the mail. It seems to us that we are being taxed dearly for the privilege of living in Douglas County. In a recent poll in your paper of what people like and dislike about living in Lawrence, it was stated that many residents dislike the amount of traffic on 23rd Street. At least people have the option of taking alternate routes if 23rd Street is too congested. But if your taxes on your house increase 17 percent in one year as ours did, all you can do is howl at the moon (appeal your valuation).
We have a two-bedroom house with about 1,400 square feet and a detached garage. In fact, only one other similar house exists in a mile or more radius of ours. But for the past eight years, the county has only been able to compare our house with houses having three bedrooms and sometimes a basement, which our house does not have. The only improvement we have made in the last year was to finish and stain a small four foot high picket fence around our front garden. And for the $250 we spent on materials, our appraisal jumped over $15,000.
What will it take for our representatives in Topeka to put a lid on excessive increases in property taxes? Enough is enough!
Fred and Sheryl Janacaro,
Lawrence
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.