As your readers are well aware, property taxes continue to rise with no end in sight. I am an 82-year-old widow on a fixed income and have paid a large amount of taxes in my lifetime, with little complaining, but have reached the point of speaking out.
I have no objection to paying taxes for education, fire department, Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System/Arizona Long Term Care System, the library tax, etc., but I am being assessed $1,184 a year for the Camp Verde Sanitary District, and get this, I have never had access to its service, and am told I never will have in my lifetime. [I live on Salt Mine Road.]
“Taxation without representation” was one of the main reasons our forefathers left England. The amount the sanitary district is charging me is almost one half my total tax bill.
Another unhelpful fact for me is despite the big drop in property values the last few years, my property’s evaluation is so high I’m not even eligible for a widow’s exemption. Where is the justice? What will happen if I refuse to pay the sanitary district portion of my bill? Any ideas, people?
— Bertha E. Monroe
Camp Verde
